Contact us via our program email: umbcmocktrial@umbc.edu.
This iteration of the UMBC Mock Trial Program was founded in the Fall semester of the 2010-2011 school year, returning the team from several years of inactivity. The first active year of the team was the 2011-2012 school year. In 2021, UMBC Mock Trial won the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) National Championship. Today the team is ranked #1 in the country by AMTA and has qualified for Nationals for three consecutive seasons. UMBC has competed at the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS) for seven years in a row ('15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21). 2017 was the first year UMBC Mock Trial sent two teams to ORCS, and one team to the National Championship Tournament (NCT). In the past four years, UMBC Mock Trial has qualified and competed at the NCT four times ('17, '19, '20, '21).
Each academic school year, we receive case materials to prepare for invitational tournaments hosted at various universities throughout the academic school year and the AMTA sponsored playoff tournaments in the spring semester. Each team may consist of up to 10 members who will play at least one role on either the side of the defense or the side of the prosecution/plaintiff (for criminal/civil cases respectively). The primary roles in Mock Trial are witness and attorney. There are various types of witnesses presented in each case -- character witnesses tend to be involved in the incident and testify in the capacity of what they have witnessed while expert witnesses analyze the facts of the case scientifically to provide a conclusion based on their knowledge, education, and professional experience.
Mock Trial is a wonderful experience for students of all majors. Practices and competitions allow students to develop various skills including public speaking, critical thinking, and improvisation. In addition to developing these skills, students really enjoy the being on the team, and always have a lot of fun at tournaments.
To learn more about UMBC's Mock Trial Program, follow us on:
Website: https://umbcmocktrial.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UMBCmocktrial/Twitter: https://twitter.com/UMBCMockTrialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/umbcmocktrial/