Dear Members of the Legal Community:
I write to solicit your assistance in judging at the Carol N. Ney National Mock Trial Tournament, Friday-Sunday, 23-25 March 2012. This is the fourth year that Furman has been selected by the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) as one of eight locations to host opening rounds of the national championship tournament. Each of the 24 regional tournaments will advance eight teams to an opening round championship site. Six teams will qualify from the Furman site to the national championship final, which will take place in Minneapolis, MN, 13-15 April. The Ney National will host the teams advancing from the regional tournaments in Orlando, FL, Chapel Hill, NC, and Kennesaw, GA. We have received the honor of hosting a national-level event in large part because of you—the many judges who regularly take part in the event—as well as the major financial support of Furman alumni Jim and Carol Ney, the tournament’s signature sponsors.
This year’s case, State v. Dawson, is a criminal case. The State of Midlands has charged Dawson with murder and driving under the influence. These charges stem from the night of September 24, 2010, the 21st birthday of Vanessa Sullivan. Ms. Sullivan, her best friend, and Dawson went to a local bar in Midlands that evening to celebrate Vanessa’s birthday. Dawson drove them home that night, but Dawson would lose control of the car and hit a utility pole and tree on a stretch of road known as Canyon Road. Vanessa Sullivan would die in the crash, and the State alleges that her death resulted from Dawson being intoxicated and speeding. Due to these allegations, the State must pursue the top charge of murder under the Model Penal Code’s “extreme recklessness” standard, thus proving that despite an absence of malice aforethought, Dawson’s s actions were so reckless as to amount to murder. As with any murder trial, the defense refutes that Dawson’s actions amount to murder, but they have numerous different avenues that they may take to advance theories of alternate causation or lesser degrees of culpability, but ultimately regardless of their case strategy, they will endeavor to show why the State has not met its burden.
As with all mock trial cases, there are many twists and turns for the students to negotiate. The fact pattern features numerous witnesses from which the students must choose. The State first decides whether they will use a sample of Dawson’s breath taken that evening by a member of the Midlands Department of Forensics. Should the State elect to use the sample and call the administrator of the test, the defense must call its own breath alcohol concentration specialist. Should the State elect not use the breath sample, neither witness may be called and the trial will proceed under the understanding that Dawson refused to submit to a breath test. The remaining witnesses include a member of the Midlands Police Department, an accident reconstruction specialist, Vanessa Sullivan’s best friend, the bartender that evening, a server at the bar, an eyewitness to the crash, a local cab driver, and the defendant Dawson.
All cases take place in Midlands, a mythical Midwestern jurisdiction. In addition to seeing an interesting case being argued, you will also witness very good teams testing their mettle against each other. The teams qualifying for the Ney National will be among the top 1/3 of all teams nationally; over 600 teams compete in the regional tournaments, with 192 teams advancing to the opening rounds of the national championship. All teams want to make the finals in Minneapolis, so they will bring their “A” game to Greenville in late March.
Twenty-four teams will be assigned to the Furman site. Thus, I must recruit 144 members of the Bar to score and preside at the trials. We would be most honored if you would judge at this event. The tournament’s four rounds are scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, 23 March; at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, 24 March; and 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, 25 March. All mock trial judges will receive a brief orientation to the case and the rules of the competition before each trial. The 2012 tournament will be staged on Furman’s campus.
You will be paired with at least one other attorney or judge and then watch a trial lasting approximately three hours. Judges usually provide a brief critique of the trial after submitting scoring sheets. The total time commitment (including the orientation session) for each round is four hours. Meals will be provided prior to each round. There will also be a church service at the Charles E. Daniel Memorial Chapel prior to the judges meeting and orientation on Sunday morning.
To register as a judge, go to http://www.furmanmocktrial.org/ney-tournament. Once you have accessed the tournament site, click on the link, which will take you to the registration form. If you would rather speak to someone involved with the tournament, contact the political science department assistant, Paige Blankenship, at (864) 294-3547, and she will assist you. We would greatly appreciate receiving your response by Friday, 24 February 2012. You can also contact me via e-mail at <glen.halva-neubauer@furman.edu>.
Once your registration has been received, you will be sent a confirmation notice electronically. In early March, we will notify you electronically of the specific round(s) to which you have been assigned. I appreciate your willingness to consider supporting Furman University in this fashion.
Sincerely,
Glen A. Halva-Neubauer
Dana Professor of Political Science
Director, Mock Trial and Public Service Internship Programs
Furman University
