Their Day in Court

Mock trial team advances to national championships

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

Eleven-year-olds Sydney and Jesse were alone in the house when Sydney鈥檚 gun went off, delivering a fatal shot to its owner. Was it a tragic mistake鈥攁n accidental discharge during gunplay or the mistaken belief that the gun was not loaded? Or was it something more sinister? And who was to blame?

Those were the questions set before Dickinson鈥檚 mock trial team last week, when it entered the American Mock Trial Association's Regional Mock Trial Tournament in Pittsburgh, Pa. Students from large institutions, like New York University, battled head-to-head with students from small liberal-arts colleges during the two-day event, held Feb. 14-15 at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, with team members taking on positions as attorneys, witnesses and experts for both the prosecution and the defense.

The pinnacle of the event arrived during the third round, when Dickinson Mock Trial Co-President Kirsten Dedrickson 鈥�15 (philosophy and computer science) argued that this was a case of intentional shooting, and that the fictional Jesse was a psychopath obsessed with guns. Her expert witness strengthened the case by outlining and categorizing the boy鈥檚 history of psychopathic behavior.

鈥淚t was the most intense round we鈥檇 seen all year,鈥� said Dedrickson who, like most of the six seniors on the winning team, has competed with mock trial since her first year at Dickinson.

And it was also the finest, added fellow Co-President Amy Fly 鈥�15 (law & policy). 鈥淭here was nothing but smiles after that round, even before we knew the results,鈥� she said.

Dickinson emerged from the regionals not just victorious, but undefeated, and Dedrickson earned the Best Regional Attorney award, while Austin Barrington 鈥�15 (international studies) and Fly were among three witnesses with perfect 20/20 scores. First-year Caroline Pappalardo was awarded Best Regional Witness.

The team will compete at the Opening Round Championship in Louisville, Ky. during spring break.

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Published February 23, 2015

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Mock trial team advances to national championships

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