USAFA MOCK TRIAL TEAM

The Mock Trial Team at the U.S. Air Force Academy offers cadets an opportunity to improve their leadership skills while simultaneously providing both a source of education about the American legal system and an arena for competition against other colleges and universities. Perhaps the best way to describe the competition itself is to separate the objectives into primary and secondary levels. The educational aspect in all of the activities of mock trial is, without doubt, foremost, with the competitive emphasis serving a back-up role.

The mock-trial advocate is exposed to a variety of knowledge about America’s legal system. Students learn both substantive and procedural aspects of the law. They do this by engaging in role playing as either attorneys or witnesses in a fictitious law suit. Over the years of competition, cases have revolved around such topics as murder, wills and estates, age discrimination, libel and slander, assault, negligence, and property rights. Although the case materials are only presented in the actual trial itself, the successful teams have always completed extensive outside study on the matters to be presented throughout the mock trial. In addition to learning facts about the individual cases, participants become familiar with the skills of the legal profession (i.e., direct and cross-examinations, relevancy of evidence presented, opinions and expert testimony, hearsay, etc.).

Since its inception in 1991, the USAFA Mock Trial Team has met with substantial success. Each year the team does very well in invitational and regional competitions, regularly progressing to national competition. The 1996 team placed 4th in the nation, with 5 members attaining All-American status. The 1996 Team was named the Academy’s Outstanding Club; the 2002 team earned several outstanding awards in Regional Competition and a bid to National Competition; and the 2003 team competed in the National Gold Tournament, with one member of the team attaining All-American status. The 2007 mock trial team captured 9th place in National Competition against the top 64 mock trial teams in the United States. The USAFA Mock Trial Team is dedicated to developing capable leaders with the skills to think rationally, communicate effectively and compete with these skills on the national level.

Above is a picture of the 2008-2009 team showing off their awards from Regional and National Tournaments in Houston, Texas and Memphis, Tennessee respectively.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the team, or want some additional information, please contact the Webmaster.