Holy Cross Mock Trial Team Finishes Fourth in Regional Competition, Advances to Nationals

The Holy Cross Mock Trial team placed fourth and won an Outstanding Trial Team award in the New England Regional Tournament, held Feb. 18 and 19 at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. The team now advances to the national mock trial finals March 10 to 12 at Stetson College of Law in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Holy Cross sent four teams to the tournament. The team finishing in fourth place won with a 5-2-1 record. The team was comprised of Michael Collins ’07, Casey Donnelly ’06, Samantha Kingsburg ’06, Elizabeth Letak ’06, who is the team’s head captain, Christine McMahon ’06, Stephen Meahl ’07 and Anthony Ursillo ’06.

Individual attorney awards went to two Holy Cross students. Letak earned a top attorney honor for her performance as a prosecution attorney. Allison Squire ’09 received an award for defense.

Holy Cross also had outstanding individual witness award winners. Katherine O’Connor ’06 won her first witness award for her portrayal as a prosecution witness. Ursillo won an award for his representation as a defense witness, his third award this season. The highest witness honor was awarded to Diana Mahoney ’08, who won first place as a prosecution witness. She was previously ranked as an All American Witness at the National Mock Trial Tournament in Kentucky last year.

Participating institutions included Amherst College, Boston University, Brown University, Coast Guard, Dartmouth College, George Washington University, Lafayette College, Roger Williams University and Yale University.

Dartmouth College finished first place in the tournament.

Started in the fall of 1997 at Holy Cross, Mock Trial is an opportunity for undergraduate students to learn about trial techniques used by lawyers in the courtroom. Teams consist of six to eight students who take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses in a simulated court case. Participants gain experience and knowledge in areas such as the stages of a trial, how to argue and how to direct and cross-examine a witness.