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Intensive Trial Practice Try-Outs
March 31, 2019 @ 12:00 pm - April 1, 2019 @ 12:00 am
WHAT: Intensive Trial Practice Course gives students the experience of preparing for a trial, and the opportunity to be one of four students who will represent VLS in a regional moot court trial advocacy competition. It is a FANTASTIC way to develop courtroom skills and a thorough understanding of evidentiary rules.
WHO IS INVITED TO TRY OUT: JD 2020 and 2021 students who have completed Evidence by the end of Fall 2019. (The regular Trial Practice course is helpful, but not necessary.)
HOW: To get into next year’s course, you must participate in the Intensive Trial Practice TRYOUTS.
Tryouts: Sunday, March 31, 2019 at the Courtroom.
PREPARATION: Tryouts will be based on the case of Stockard v. Murphy. We will provide the witnesses. You will have a few minutes to speak with your witness before you begin your examination. Each person should be prepared to spend 12-15 minutes to:
1) Do a direct examination of Officer Chris Jensen (during which you should lay the foundation for and offer into evidence either Exhibit #4 or Exhibit #8); and
2) Give either an opening statement or closing argument (your choice) for either Plaintiff or Defendant.
Entry to the course will be based on your performance at the tryouts.
MORE DETAILS ON COURSE EXPECTATIONS: Although the course falls in the Spring 2020 semester, the class will meet at least twice in the fall to review needed trial practice skills and once to review next year’s civil trial competition case. Regular classes will begin right after January 1, 2020 before the official semester begins. We will meet three times per week, on Sunday afternoons and Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Each class session will be between three and four hours long. This intense schedule will continue through next year’s competition, which will be in early to mid February. The course ends after students have turned in their final assignments, the trial notebooks. ITP is a two-credit course. Students picked to represent VLS in the inter-law school trial competition receive three credits.
QUESTIONS? For questions about info sessions or tryouts or to chat about the experience generally, please contact via VLS email: Chloe Castro, Carly Orazco, Elizabeth McAndrew, Alex Steinbach (who all represented VLS competing in Maine this year), and Gaines Harrell, Laura Lee, Lateef Munir, Vishrut Shelat.
We look forward to meeting you to begin building another great ITP course and VLS trial team for 2020.
Larry Novins and John Evers