Texas Undergraduate Students To Compete In Baylor Green and Gold Mock Trial Contest

by Alan Hunt, associate director of media relations, (254) 710-6271
The Baylor Undergraduate Mock Trial Team (BUMT) will be hosting its third annual Green and Gold Invitational Mock Trial Tournament on Nov. 17-19 at the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center.

The tournament rounds, scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, are free and open to the public. The hearings will be held in the practice courtrooms and classrooms on the second floor of the law school, and in rooms 120 and 122.

The three-day contest, which is sanctioned by the American Mock Trial Association, has attracted 19 teams of undergraduate students from the University of Texas, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M University, Houston Baptist University, University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Wesleyan, and Baylor.

Heather Creed, director of student relations for Baylor Law School and BUMT faculty sponsor, said the students will play the parts of attorneys and witnesses. "Each team (plaintiff and defendant) will give an opening statement, closing argument, and direct and cross examine the witnesses," she said. "Local attorneys and law students will judge the students."

Creed said the first Green and Gold Tournament was held in 2004 and it has become a popular event among undergraduate students who are considering a career in the legal profession. "The purpose of mock trial is to give undergraduate students an opportunity to learn first hand about the work of trial attorneys, understand the judicial system, develop critical thinking and enhance communication skills."

She said the case to be argued by the students at this year's event involves the parents of a teenager in a coma who are suing the police department for injuries sustained when an officer shot the boy. "The boy was fleeing the scene of a robbery and the officer shot the boy as he was climbing a fence. The family is arguing that due to past performance problems, the officer shouldn't have been on duty at the time of the shooting."

Creed added, "If any students would like to serve as timekeepers, we would love to have them." She can be reached at 710-7617 or Heather_Creed@baylor.edu.