Ultimate Goal of Mock Trial

[Not Guilty]

Many of you will think this is a ridiculous post, but I'm going to write it anyway...
 
I have been involved in mock trial since '99, and I've seen many different teams over the years.  Most have had exceptional student advocates, and I've always appreciated the level of preparedness each student brings to the competition.  It's easy to see if a student is passionate about what they're doing or if they're simply going through the motions.
 
I'm an attorney-coach, and I've stumbled upon many messages/threads about the intricacies of the competition itself and scoring and winning. Sometimes at the competition, I feel the actual goal of mock trial is lost.  Students should be cultivating a skill, learning their style, and using AMTA as a vehicle to become better advocates.
 
Juries are made up of real people.  Translating what you know about a case to people who will be making the ultimate decision for your client is an incredibly difficult task.  Your client won't really care if you know the most obscure exception to the hearsay rule if you can't passionately convey the case you're advocating. 
 
Just try not to lose the forest through the trees.  Take a step back at times and remember what mock trial is all about...

[AYE!!!]

Sometimes at the competition, I feel the actual goal of mock trial is lost.  Students should be cultivating a skill, learning their style, and using AMTA as a vehicle to become better advocates.

I dissent in part. Although those may be the ultimate goals that lead students to partake in this thing we call mock trial, the goal of any particular competition is to win. I don't believe that students whose attitudes reflect this reality have lost the actual goal of mock trial. One cannot see the entire forest when standing in the middle of it, just the trees.

[Mocktasm]

I dissent in part. Although those may be the ultimate goals that lead students to partake in this thing we call mock trial, the goal of any particular competition is to win. I don't believe that students whose attitudes reflect this reality have lost the actual goal of mock trial. One cannot see the entire forest when standing in the middle of it, just the trees.

Sure, the goal of any competition is to win, but the goal of Mock Trial is to learn more about the law, become better advocates, advance our critical thinking skills, learn to work together on a team, and so forth.  I contend that Mock Trial contributes to my education more than any class I have ever taken (and indeed maybe all of the classes I have ever taken).

I do believe that sometimes we lose track of what Mock Trial originally set out to do.  Sometimes we are no longer lawyers, we are robots, delivering a memorized speech, a memorized witness examination, a memorized and carefully planned response.  It is indisputable that Mock Trial is just as much about being the best litigator as it is about being the best actor, the most polished puppet, which is applicable to attorneys and witnesses alike.

And here we come back to winning.  Mock Trial has become what it has become because we all want to win, and that is what you have to do to win.  A necessary evil I suppose, but we still can't help but to teach ourselves a few things along the way.