ASU’s mock trial team wins award at first competition

After ASU's Mock Trial League competed at a regional tournament in Houston, it placed first in the Spirit of AMTA (American Mock Trial Association) category. ASU won over the University of Texas at Dallas by one point with a perfect score of 30.

This award goes to the team that best displays professionalism, courtesy, and the characteristics of an ideal attorney, said sophomore Tyler Corder, founder of Mock Trial League. All of the competing teams voted on the teams that would place.

"We didn't expect to get this award, and then they called our name: Angelo State University," Corder said. "Of course, everyone was shocked because we were brand new to the world of mock trial."

Corder founded MTL last September.

MTL did not advance to the next level of competition, but did win against University of Texas Pan-American in the second of four rounds, Corder said ASU had faced University of Georgia, a mock trial "power house," in its first round and lost. ASU's losses to Collin College and Southern Methodist University were very close, Corder said.

He said the majority of the competing schools have a law program, connections with attorneys and local judges, significant funding, and/or have had a mock trial program established for a significant amount of time. Some of the schools even have "allies" in the mock trial world, with whom they can practice before the competition.

"We were already outmatched there," he said, "[but] we went to competition and we actually won one of the most prestigious awards."

Along with the Spirit of AMTA award, there were also Outstanding Attorney awards and Outstanding Witness awards. Eight out of 24 of the competing schools qualified for the Opening Round Championship series in Memphis, Tenn., according to the AMTA website.