Mock trial wins big money at John Marshall Law
Kevin Meyer
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
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In the last tournament of the year for the mock trial team, head coach Dr. James Houlihan sent four undergraduate students to an event at John Marshall Law School in Chicago. This tournament is known for students earning scholarships, while over the last four years, Lewis University mock trial students have been invited to attend the event.
Due to scheduling problems, only four Lewis students attended the event which is different from typical mock trial tournaments. This tournament is unique, because the Lewis students did not actually participate on the same team. When arriving at the event, every school's participants split up into numerous teams of three that were produced from the 56 students attending the event. At the event, the students would have to act as both witnesses and attorneys to earn points for their teams.
The team that eventually went on to win the entire event was the team led by a Lewis freshman, Michael Park. Park, a Forensic Criminal Investigation major, received a $15,000 tuition waiver to John Marshall for his team's victory.
Park said winning this tournament was not an easy task: "John Marshall was a tough competition, with tough competitors from colleges like Loyola University. First place was not easy to come by." Park also finished in fifth place as an individual for his advocacy, which is the pursuit of influencing outcomes.
Also receiving a scholarship was Lewis sophomore, Summer Hallaj. Hallaj, a Political Science and Philosophy of Law double major, won two different scholarships for her participation at John Marshall. Her team finished third in the tournament which earned her a $3,000 tuition waiver for John Marshall. She was not finished there as she took third place as in individual for advocacy, earning another $3,000 tuition waiver.
Other Lewis participants in the tourney were freshman Political Science and Philosophy of Law student Jack Catalano and Kaity Worst, who is a sophomore Philosophy of Law and Psychology double major. At the tourney, Catalano's team placed ninth and he, as an individual, placed 23rd for advocacy. Worst's team finished in 13th place and as an individual, she finished 20th for her advocacy.
"They did a tremendous job with the little time they had to prepare; it was outstanding," Houlihan said.
According to Houlihan, Lewis has now accumulated about $100,000 in scholarships in only four years of participating at John Marshall.
With a very young team nucleus, the mock trial team is looking for some success next year. Houlihan explained what he thinks about next season's team chances to strive. "Wonderful, young team that if everyone comes back, were going to have an amazing season and do extremely well. The fact is, these guys have already done so much, and they are considerably young for mock trial standards," he said.
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