Northern Kentucky University hasn’t had a mock trial team since 2014, but a new team has made its way back onto the scene.

In the first season back, NKU competed at the University of Dayton in February, where members competed against 12 different universities across the U.S. The team completed four rounds at the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA), bringing home two ballots.

Now they are moving to the classroom as mock trial will become a class, Law 450. This class will be headed up by one of the coaches from last season, Alexandrea Brennan, a political science and criminal justice professor. 

What is mock trial?

Mock trial is a student organization that simulates trials and teaches students trial advocacy in a competitive way. Students play the different parts in the courtroom such as attorneys and witnesses, learning in detail the skills and rules of legal practices and procedures.

Mock trial is very competitive. Individuals face off against peers from other schools, testing the team’s abilities as they compete for a national championship. But the main objective is to learn.

Meet the coaches

The team is headed up by Brennan and Grant Garber, who is the vice president for Legal Affairs.

This isn’t Garber’s first time heading up a mock trial team. 

“The season that just concluded was my 24th mock trial season,” he said.

Garber competed in high school and college as a student, making it to the national championship round in his final year of college. That event became one of the most important and memorable experiences of his whole life.

When Garber was in law school, he taught the undergraduate team. He also coached high school for a number of years, then he coached at schools like Duke, Ohio University, Auburn and now NKU. 

This is Brennan’s first year coaching a mock trial team. She is a litigator, a trial attorney.

“I just have real-world experience. I did not do mock trial in college. I did not do mock trial in law school, but for over a decade, I have been a federal criminal defense attorney,” Brennan said.

She specializes in high-profile cases, and her practice was known for taking clients who want to go to trial. 

“In my career, I had more trials than most. So I have real-world trial experience, which is different than mock trial experience, and so I came in with trial advocacy skills, just based on my career,” Brennan said.

Even though they come from different backgrounds, Brennan and Garber work well with each other 

“We kind of compliment each other in that way, which I think was helpful,” Brennan said.

How students grow through mock trial

Garber sees students grow through their comfort level on their feet. At the start of the season, a student may be tentative about how they ask a cross question or they are struggling with a particular thing, Garber and Brennan help them through. 

“If we’re all doing our job and putting in the work, by the end, Alex [Brennan] and I are sitting in the back of a courtroom somewhere, watching that same person demonstrate complete mastery of that rule evidence,” he said. 

Brennan is on the same page as her fellow coach. She sees students practice in a whisper, not being sure of what to say or do, then develop into full-fledged ‘I’m an attorney for the next three hours mode.’

“I think everyone felt more comfortable in their skin and their ability to deliver what was being asked of them, and that was the goal for me,” she said.

Mockers (as mock trial players are called) like sophomore Nora Holmes, a political science major, and senior Gavin Borchers, a law major, have grown a lot through mock trials.

“Through my involvement in mock trial this year, I learned so much about the ins and outs of court as well as how evidence works, Holmes said. “I had not had much practice in this [mock trial] prior to taking it on, so this was all new, and I’d say after our competition in Dayton, I have been able to develop a somewhat decent understanding of it all.” 

Borchers grew in a different way; he found his passion.

“I think going to Dayton and going through the actual mock trial really helped me understand that law is what I want to go into. Throughout college, I, like many others, have struggled to decide what it is I want to do. Going to the mock trial was an exhilarating experience that helped confirm in my mind that this is where I belong,” he said.

Favorite moment

Garbers’ favorite moment of the season is usually the last practice before they go off to competition because students are all doing it themselves.

“Walking into a room and seeing students all just on their own, dividing into small groups, polishing little things here and there, working independently, encouraging each other. And Alex and I just get to stand back and watch at that point, you know, our work is done,” he said.

For Brennan, there were a lot of great moments throughout the season. She was proud when her players got over those tough challenges, but she loved the sportsmanship of her team.

“At the award ceremony, someone got an award that was on the first team that we went against, like, in the very first round, and when that person got an award, our entire team stood up and clapped for them, and that was probably my proudest moment,” she said.

Holmes, one of the opening attorneys for their case, said her favorite moment came in the third round of the competition.

“We had gone the day prior and gotten some feedback, so this time we were able to try again. We went up in front of new judges and against a new team and got to present our best case yet. We all performed better than we had in our last round and finished off the season with a bang.” Holmes said.

Borchers, the president of the team, said his favorite moment was also the last round of competition.

“By that point, I felt we all had grown a lot in confidence and ability, and I think it showed in our performance against the opposition. With it being my side [plaintiff], going in, I was particularly excited about my own performance, but what made me happiest was to see how my fellow teammates had grown,” Borchers said.

Advice for students who want to join

Borchers and Holmes want people not to be afraid to commit to the team, given how life-changing it has been for them.

 “It has made a huge impact on my life, despite the fact that I only got to do it this one year. I cannot imagine how much of a positive force it could be for those able to do it for years to come,” Borchers said.

Holmes said, “Commit to it, no matter what nerves you may have. Activities like this will be stressful, but will pay off more than you can imagine in the long run. Mock trial is so much fun, has such an amazing community, and we have such a great team here at NKU. You will love it.”