Miami Mock Trial among top 10 in national tournament

The Miami University James Lewis Family Mock Trial team placed in the top 10 in the nation with a sixth place finish at the American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament held in Des Moines, Iowa, April 15-17.

Pavel Gurevich, junior finance major, won an All-American Witness Award.

The University of California at Los Angeles won the tournament, defeating the defending champion, New York University. Forty-eight teams competed in the national tournament, after starting the season with a field of more than 550 teams from more than 350 colleges and universities — making collegiate mock trial the largest academic competition in the country.

Twenty-four regional tournaments were held across the country earlier this year with the top eight teams from each advancing to the Opening Round Regional Competition Series (ORCS) in March; the top six teams from each ORCS advanced to the national tournament. Miami’s four mock trial teams each placed in the top six in regional competitions (one placed sixth, two placed fourth and one team placed first, winning a regional competition for the 13th consecutive year).

Members of the nation’s sixth-ranked mock trial team are, in addition to Gurevich: Michelle Markham, senior management and organizations and political science double major; Joe Luizzi, junior history major; Alycia Walker, junior political science major; Daniela Pierre-Bravo, sophomore international studies major; Katie Law, sophomore philosophy major; Alex Block, first year diplomacy and global politics major; and Deborah O’Neal, first year political science major.

The James Lewis Family Miami Mock trial program is directed by Daniel Herron, professor of business legal studies. Teams are coached by Herron, Wayne Staton, associate professor of finance and business legal studies and attorney-at-law; Dan Haughey, instructor of business legal studies and a Butler County Area Court judge; Neal Schuett, attorney-at-law; Melissa Schuett, graduate student in curriculum and teacher leadership; Barry Tolchin, first year adviser; Lawrence Hilton (Miami M.S. ’08), student at the Chase School of Law; and Gus Lazares (Miami ’10).