Three months of tournaments, hard work, and late night practices have come and gone, and Rutgers Mock Trial has kicked off preseason with flying colors. With 4 tournaments under our belt, RUMTA has been preparing in earnest for an extremely competitive spring regional.
This year’s AMTA case concerns negligence. An animal trainer is invited to appear on a talk show and bring his pet chimpanzee. During the rehearsal, the chimpanzee attacks and kills a writer on set, and the television studio and the animal trainer file suits of negligence as both parties suffered from negative publicity following the attack. RUMTA has been kept on its toes with this year’s unique countersuit and detailed case. Case changes (coming in December) are bound to make preparations for Regionals even more interesting.
This fall season opened with RUMTA’s A-Team at Columbia University’s Big Apple Invitational Tournament, where our competitors faced off against schools like Yale University and Harvard University and finished with a record of 4-4. The same weekend, B-Team and C-Team attended George Washington University’s Habeas Corpus Invitational. B-Team’s plaintiff closer and senior Emily O’Leary won an Outstanding Attorney Award, and junior Hasin Tasneem won an Outstanding Witness award for her portrayal of the plaintiff representative, Alex Grace. Aabha Joshi, sophomore and C-Team captain, also won an Outstanding Attorney Award as plaintiff closer. Congratulations to all the competitors for incredible wins that weekend!
Next, A-Team attended Tufts University's Mumbo Jumbo. Ater rounds against schools such as Brown and NYU, A-Team won first place out of 22 teams with a record of 6.5 - 2. Not only that, but A-Team Captain Mike Kleynman received an Outstanding Witness Award for his portrayal of the Plaintiff, and junior Humayoon Hashmi received an Outstanding Attorney Award as a Plaintiff Opener. Congratulations to A-Team for their amazing first-place win!
The following weekend, C-Team travelled to Philadelphia to participate in Haverford University’s Black Squirrel Invitational. The field at this tournament was extremely competitive, and after seeing rounds against schools such as the 2017 National Champions, University of Virginia, C-Team capped off an amazing weekend. They also took home another Outstanding Attorney Award for captain Aabha Joshi and an Outstanding Witness Award for Ajoke Adetula, who earned perfect ranks as a Defense character witness. Congratulations to C-Team for a stellar performance against a field of the best schools in the country!
With 3 Outstanding Witness Awards, 3 Outstanding Attorney Awards, and one First Place trophy at some of the most competitive invitationals across the country, this marks one of RUMTA’s most successful fall pre-seasons yet. Next, A-Team and B-Team are gearing up for the last and our most competitive invitational of the pre-season, the Yale University Invitational on December 2-3. C-Team will also be competing the same weekend, travelling to State College to participate in Penn State’s Happy Valley Tournament.
A huge thank you to our volunteer coaches, Michael Roberts, Rachel Holt, Zaniah Maynor, and Nicoletta Eby, for your time and dedication to this team. Another thank you to our sponsors, Roberts & Teeer, the Middlesex County Bar Foundation, RAM Law, the Rutgers Alumni Association, the RUSA Allocations Board, and the Rutgers Athletics Department. Without your support, Rutgers Mock Trial could not continue the legacy of hard work and excellence set by the competitors and coaches of years prior.
For more updates and information on becoming a competitor, coach, or sponsor, contact us at rumocktrial05@gmail.com.