Announcements

4.22.24

National champions!

Virginia Mock Trial wins its fourth national championship in the Windy City of Chicago! Team 1123 had the best record through four rounds, and won 8.5 out of 9 ballots in the Final Round! Three program members--including two first years -- receive individual awards. See everyone next fall!

12.8.23

This past weekend, VaMT hosted the Twentieth Annual Great American Mock Trial Invitational! The 24-team field had the highest percentage of Nationals returners of any fall invitational. VaMT won the tournament for the second year in a row, holding onto the big gavel for another year! In addition, captains Ansley Skipper and Ethan Marx won individual awards. This marks VaMT's third tournament win of the fall season heading into Winter Break! Next up: Pancakes!!

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Mock Trial Memories

 

What is mock trial?

It's a competitive extracurricular activity where teams of 6-8 people compete against other schools in 3-hour trials. Students play the roles of attorneys and witnesses, both of which are scored. All competitors learn about the law, courtroom procedures, and the rules of evidence, as well as public speaking and critical thinking skills.

We practice in courtrooms at the Law School and compete in tournaments throughout the country. Four of the tournaments we attended last year were held in courthouses and several of our rounds were judged by actual judges.

Who competes for Virginia Mock Trial?

Virginia Mock Trial is open to all undergraduates. Anyone with experience with theater, debate, or any sort of public speaking is encouraged to try out, although no previous experience is necessary. We always have a diverse range of majors represented, from Foreign Affairs to Classics to Physics to Computer Science. All are welcome!

Former members of Virginia Mock Trial currently are attending law school at Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Columbia, Stanford, Duke, and U.Va. Our alumni have worked as lawyers, law clerks to federal judges, bankers, teachers, management consultants, software engineers, and speechwriters in cities including Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

You could be next! Try-outs will be held in late August. For more information, please see the recruitment page.

How successful is Mock Trial at UVa?

Very. Virginia Mock Trial is ranked number one nationwide. Before the 2024-25 season, Virginia Mock Trial won the national championship in 2006, 2007, 2017, and 2024 and came a single ballot away from appearing in the national final round in 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2019 as well. In total, Virginia Mock Trial has won 74 tournaments—nearly half of those it has attended. Virginia Mock Trial has won both its regional and super-regional tournament for ten out of the last fifteen years.

A central feature of Virginia Mock Trial is its depth. The program's "B" team has outplaced the "A" team at a tournament at least once for ten out of the last fifteen years. The “B” team has also enjoyed success on its own, with 20 tournament wins, five top ten National finishes, and eleven All-American awards.

The 2023-24 season was a very successful competitive season. Virginia Mock Trial competed at nine tournaments, of which it won six and placed at the others, with a combined total of 104 ballots won. The program qualified two teams to the National Championship Tournament, leading to its 21st consecutive year qualifying for nationals. The “A” team won the national championship. Fourteen different program members combined for 35 individual awards.