Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You! National Trial Advocacy Competition

In less than a week, The National Trial Advocacy Team heads to East Lansing, Michigan in hopes of bringing home the gold.  Teammates Brandon Deberry, Patrick Keegan, Jeannie LaBarbara, Andie Crivolio, and myself, Katie Siefert, with coaches and Assistant Cook County State’s Attorneys Brian Sexton and Sean O’Brien, have been practicing diligently in sorting through the mess that is People of the State of Sparta v. Paul Mallin.

The defendant, Paul Mallin, is a rich Casanova that has a history of threatening women with guns.   The victim, Brianna Lana Lane, is a struggling 39-year-old actress with a history of depression.  These two met at the Blue Light Lounge, where Brianna was a part-time hostess and Paul wooed Brianna with his charm and his money. When Paul succeeds in bringing Brianna to his home, the doors of his home close and we are left to decipher….was her death a homicide or a suicide???

If you are starting to think you’ve heard this one, you probably have.  Phil Spector, legendary music producer, was convicted in 2009 of the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, in 2003.  Spector is currently serving 19 years for the second degree murder conviction. Although Spector was convicted, it is less clear whether Paul Mallin will be.

Standing in the way of an open-and-shut case are the four witnesses who will testify.  Loren Deville, the defendant’s personal driver, is the only witness to the actual crime.  A Canadian on visa in Sparta, Loren sometimes has a difficult time understanding English.  Then there is Kris Michaels, the career actor and Brianna Lane’s best friend.  Don’t let Kris fool you though, he is testifying for the defense either because he is convinced Brianna killed herself or because the witness stand is the next stage in his career of searching for his 15 minutes of fame.

The real dilemma is the battle of the experts.  One is Jesse Carrington, the lab technician assigned to the case, who found Paul Mallin’s home to be the center of the cover-up.  Jesse’s potentially fatal flaw is his mediocre experience compared to the defense expert Jordan Tracy.  Jordan has more than twenty years experience in litigation support for defendants and has ruled this case a suicide.  However, with Jordan’s $20,000 flat fee for her analysis of the case, who is to say she is not just a “hired gun” for Paul Mallin?

Whether it be homicide or suicide, we may never know.  What we do know is that the National Trial Advocacy Team is ready to play ball.  Our bags are packed, our plans of attack are memorized, and our morale is high.  We plan on bringing back a win to the John Marshall community. 

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Civil Trial Panel Discussion

The Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution in conjunction with the Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Honors Board is pleased to announce a second panel discussion of the semester. This panel involves the discussion of civil trials.  

After a successful first panel presentation, the Center and the Board are looking forward to this upcoming panel consisting of civil law attorneys, clerks, and judges. For those of you who missed the first panel, panel discussions are held on the third Thursday of each month, from noon to 1:00 p.m. The Civil Trial Panel Discussion is scheduled for Thursday, October 15th in room 503. Food will be served. The event is open to the general John Marshall population and all Trial Ad Council members will receive an activity hour for attending the panel.

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A Q&A With Lance Northcutt

As a former law enforcement officer, John Marshall student, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney, partner with the Chicago law firm Berg Northcutt & Berg, and now sole practitioner and assistant trial advocacy director for John Marshall, Lance Northcutt sat down to talk with us about his experiences.  

Q: Where are you from?  
A: I'm from Chicago, Illinois.  

Q: Tell us about your experience as a student at JMLS.  
A: My experience as a student at John Marshall was wonderful. I was extremely involved in the Trial Advocacy program at John Marshall.  

Q: You have won trial advocacy competitions both as a student and now as a coach, what is the secret to your success?   
A: The secret is that no amount of intelligence can supplant hard work. Also, knowing the rules of evidence and being able to think on your feet is key.  

Q: How did your experiences as an Assistant State's Attorney help you in your private practice?  
A: My experience as an Assistant State’s Attorney helped me in private practice because it gave me the opportunity to see the criminal justice system from both sides. Also, the trial experience I gained by working as an Assistant State's Attorney was extremely helpful in private practice.  

Q: What are the challenges you face as a sole practitioner?  
A: As a sole practitioner, the biggest challenge that I face is time management. However, by being a sole practitioner, you become more conscious of the cases that you take on and you become more aware of how your decisions affect your clients and your practice.  

Q: What do you look for in a student when forming a team for a trial competition?  
A: When picking students for trial team, I look for hard workers. Before anything, the student must be hard working. The students I pick also have to be able to work well with others, have great attitudes, and must also be strong in their abilities with the rules of evidence.  

Q: What is your role as the assistant trial advocacy director?  
A: As the Assistant Trial Advocacy Director, I oversee the progress of the trial teams with their competitions and I also assist the Associate Director and Director of the Trial Advocacy program. My position also allows me to be a co-instructor of the Ireland Comparative Trial Advocacy Course as well as a Trial Advocacy instructor here at John Marshall.

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Trial Advocacy is Teaming Up With Chicago Cares!

Chicago Cares is Chicago’s leading organization in volunteer opportunities since 1991.  Through Chicago Cares, our council members will be able to choose from more than 100 different service projects throughout the year! Chicago Cares brings volunteers to hundreds of diverse programs throughout the Chicago-land area and they guarantee that your time will be well spent and meaningful.

 How to get involved:

1. Go to www.chicagocares.org.

2. Click on the “New Volunteer Orientation” link.

3. Complete the online orientation, consisting of a few slides and registering a username and password and completing an online form (it will not take more than 5 minutes). Company: John Marshall Position: Student.

4. Login using the name and password you create at the orientation.

5. Next, look for emails from the Trial Ad Board describing the volunteer opportunities in which the Council members will be participating. Click on “Members Only” at the Chicago Care website.

6. In the email, there will be the contact information of  a Chicago Care Team Coordinator who you will call to sign up for the event.  The information can also be obtained by going to www.chicagocares.org and click on “Members Only”.

7. If you discover you cannot attend after signing up for the project, please contact the team coordinator to cancel.  Council members who do not call the Team Coordinator to cancel will receive strikes.

8. At the event, make sure to have the team coordinator sign off on your volunteer hours (with signature sheet available online or in the Trial Ad Office). Additionally, a board member should be present at all volunteer events and they can also sign off on your activity hours.

9. Turn in your signed sheet with volunteer hours to Mary Scholl’s mailbox in the Trial Ad Office.

In addition to helping with projects involving issues such as education, hunger, and the environment, members will have the opportunity to complete up to 5 of the required 10 activity hours.  We will ask that members track their hours by turning in a signed form. However, the Trial Advocacy Board has spoken with development coordinators at Chicago Cares who will track hours of all participants to confirm your participation.

Large scale events held by ChicagoCares include the “Serve-a-thon” in June, the Celebration of Service in Honor of Martin Luther King Jr., and the National and Global Youth Service Day.

We hope you join us in this great opportunity to give back to the community! If you have any questions about Chicago Care please check out www.chicagocares.org or contact Mary Scholl at 5schollm@law.jmls.edu or trialad@jmls.edu.

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