In the words of business legal studies Professor Dan Herron, “Mock trial is intellectual athletics at its best.” If that’s the case, Miami University boasts some of the finest “intellectual athletes” in the nation. In this year’s race to the finish line, the Miami team outpaced strong competition in the field, and ultimately took the “bronze” at 3rd place in the 2008 national championship.
Earlier in the season, the nine-time defending regional champion Miami team from the James Lewis Family Mock Trial Program (JLFMTP) led the other top-scoring teams in the region: University of Pittsburgh, University of Cincinnati, Ohio State University, and a second Miami team. Winning the final match against the University of Cincinnati in February, the JLFMTP team scored its tenth consecutive regional championship.
In April, the Miami team headed to Minneapolis for the 2008 Mock Trial National Championship Tournament, hosted by Hamlin University. After defeating Georgetown University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Texas in the first three rounds, Miami faced off with the only remaining undefeated team, George Washington University. Although the “gold” slipped through Miami’s hands by a narrow margin—leading to the fifth crown won by the University of Maryland at the annual event—Miami was proud to finish third among the nation’s mock trial elite. The achievement represents Miami’s highest finish since it took second place in 2003 and won the championship in 2001.
Also awarded at the 2008 national tournament:
Herron, coach, director, and founder (1994) of Miami’s mock trial program, was one of two coaches honored by the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) with induction to the AMTA Coaching Hall of Fame.
Second-year Miami finance major Tom Jeffcott was named “All-American Attorney,” becoming Miami’s eighth student to win the title, while Miami finance major Katie Tilenni ’08 became Miami’s sixth “All-American Witness.”
The Miami University Mock Trial Program, coached by Herron and other business legal studies faculty members Todd Bailey, Wayne Staton, and Daniel Haughey, as well as graduate student Laurence Hilton, welcomes participants from all backgrounds and majors. Its “intellectual athletes” have gone on to careers in law, business, engineering, government and the performing arts.
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