Quarter Finalists at the Box Office

“Your Honor, this is RANK hearsay!!!”  Compliments of the prosecution team from Pace University Law School in White Plaines, New York, this was the team’s last ditch effort to attack the defense of the unbeatable team of Jeannie LaBarabara and Patrick Keegan. Fortunately, these efforts were not enough.  The John Marshall National Trial Advocacy Competition team dominated Pace, finishing 3 and 0 in the preliminary round.

After two days of preliminary round trials among 26 teams, the eight advancing teams were announced Friday night during the annual NTAC reception.  For the first time since John Marshall began attending the competition, the JMLS team advanced!  Jeannie LaBarbara and Patrick Keegan for the defense and Brandon DeBerry and myself, Katie Siefert, for the prosecution, along with our alternate, Andie Crivolio, and our coaches Brian Sexton and Sean O’Brien, advanced to the quarterfinal round.  Taking on Fordham Law School, recipients of two individual awards for Best Cross Examination and Best Advocate, our team fell just shy of advancing to the semifinal round.

Overall, the trip to East Lansing, Michigan with my fellow teammates and coaches was a huge success.  The long hours of practice and studying the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) paid off.  Based on my experience I urge everyone with an interest in litigation to try out for a trial team in the future, not only because of the advocacy skills and the in-depth knowledge of the FRE that you will gain, but also because of the fun that you can have competing against other schools.

An extra special thanks to our coaches, Brian Sexton and Sean O’Brien, both prosecutors for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. They were phenomenal resources for this competition, and their constant encouragement and thoughtful critiques really showed through in our team’s performance.  Brian and Sean are amazing advocates in their field and the professionalism they instilled in our team was definitely unmatched at the competition.  Additionally, many thanks to Meredith Shane, recent graduate of John Marshall and a trial team alum also helped the team practice and draft material, and she tested us constantly on common objections and was always around for whatever help we needed.  

Congratulations on a successful tournament!

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Mock Trial Team Tryouts

It is that time of the year again! The John Marshall Law School Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution is holding the Mock Trial Teams’ Tryouts for the Spring 2010 semester. The signups for the tryouts will take place on October 27 at 9:00 a.m. in room 411 (except for the Animal Law Competition, which will be held on October 21 and 22) and tryouts are set for November 2, 3 and 4.  

The following are the competitions available for the Spring semester:  

Animal Law Closing Arguments Competition at Harvard Law School (2/5-2/7) Cambridge, MA

•  The John Marshall Law School has won this competition the past two years and looking for the three-peat

• Sign-ups began on October 14. Feel free to stop by room 411 today to sign up for these tryouts.

Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition (2/18-2/20) Chicago, IL

• This is one of the biggest national trial competitions.

• Each year the nature of the case differs, between civil and criminal.  

AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition (2/25-2/28) Chicago, IL

• AAJ's mock trial cases are always civil cases and tend to deal with products liability, personal injury, or medical malpractice/negligence issues.  

Capitol City Challenge (3/19-3/21) Washington DC

• The competition features a civil case problem and access to modern courthouse technology.

• Unique trial competition because each school gets to challenge another school to compete against in the first round. .

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A Council Member’s Perspective on Externships

Participating in an externship is a great way to take the law you’ve learned in substantive classes and your trial advocacy skills and put them to work.  I have externed at the Cook County Public Defender’s Office since June of this year. In that time, I have had many opportunities to participate in litigation, in addition to learning the day-to-day routine of an Assistant Public Defender.

As part of my daily responsibilities I attend court for the morning call.  I use my 711 law student-practice license in court by representing clients during arraignments under the supervision of the assistant public defender in the courtroom.  During the client interview, I tell the defendent what he is charged with and make sure he understands the charges.  I tell him the possible sentence and communicate any offer that the State’s Attorney may have made.  Then I ask the client for his version of the incident.  I review any discovery I have received such as police reports, inventory reports, or transcripts.  It is up to the client whether to take the State’s offer.  If he decides to take the offer, I advise him of his rights that he is giving up by accepting the offer.  Then I represent him during the plea hearing.

It is important to pay attention to all of the proceedings in court so I can quickly assist my supervising attorneys with any court orders that must be completed and signed by the judge.  I work in a felony drug courtroom, so I often complete court orders for our clients to enter drug treatment programs.  I also complete court orders for clients to enter Sheriff’s Day Reporting program or the Furlough Program if it is a condition of probation.  Being attentive and having these orders completed allows my supervising attorneys to move quickly and efficiently through the court call.

Participating in the externship has also allowed me to practice my advocacy skills.  I was second chair during a bench trial and jury trial over the summer and have another bench trial coming up.  In both trials, I gave opening statements and I cross-examined an expert witness and police officers.  In addition to the trials, I have argued a Motion in Limine and participated in two Motions to Quash Arrest and Suppress Evidence.

Another benefit of being an extern is that I am able to observe directly how the Public Defender’s Office operates.  I am getting to know many of the attorneys who work in the office.  My research skills are being tested through assignments that result from the morning court call. I am building great relationships with my supervising attorneys.  Not only do they answer all of my questions about what goes on in the courtroom but they give me advice on how to prepare for interviews, what to do to make my resume look better and  encourage me on with getting through school.

As one colleague put it, participating in an externship is the bridge that gaps law school and the real world.  It is an exciting challenge that I would highly recommend to anyone! .

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