NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Hoping to stage a successful run-up to the American Mock Trial Association Championships in the spring, Rutgers’ 26-member squad – which likely includes a fair number of future attorneys – made an impressive showing at Penn State University’s recent Happy Valley Invitational.
Against a field that included six competitors from last year’s national championship tournament, two of the Rutgers University Mock Trial Association (RUMTA) teams placed in the top 10, with the A team winning the invitational with a 7-1 record. Rutgers’ B squad finished fifth, at 5-3, while the C team made a very credible showing, taking three of four ballots against Lafayette College and John Hopkins University, two well established programs.
In each of the four rounds of the fictional Happy Valley case, Rutgers’ teams litigated State of Midlands v. Whit Bowman, an accomplice liability case in which the defendant – an amusement park employee – was charged with theft by deception and first degree robbery. It was alleged that over the course of time, the defendant skimmed receipts from her employer and that she later helped another person steal money, although the alleged perpetrator managed to elude authorities.
While helping the team to the title, three members were cited by judges for their outstanding performances. RUMTA president Gregory Cui, the closing attorney for the prosecution, won a Top Attorney award with a perfect score of 20 ranks. Secretary Shaleen Patel and newcomer Brandon Ferrick won Top Witness awards, the latter also with a perfect mark of 20 ranks.
“I am very proud of this association. These young men and women … have shown the character that it takes to overcome and succeed,” said attorney and coach Craig Aronow of Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP, New Brunswick. “I thought this was going to be a rebuilding year based upon our youth, but through hard work, the team has proven me wrong.”
RUMTA will participate in several more “preseason” invitationals in the late fall and winter before the “serious” competition begins with regionals, the open round championship series and the National Championship Tournament, at which the nation’s top 48 collegiate mock trial teams – winnowed from a field of around 650 teams at the start of the year – compete for the title. The AMTA’s 30th annual national tournament is scheduled April 11-13, 2014 in Orlando, Fla., and will be hosted by the University of Central Florida.
In 2012, RUMTA, in the university’s first trip to the finals, became national runner-up, losing to Duke by a mere five points. Last year, Rutgers barely missed qualifying for the national championships.
Besides Aronow, the team was coached by Middlesex County Bar members and volunteers Michael Roberts of Roberts & Teeter and Kimberly Yonta of Yonta Law. Both firms are based in New Brunswick.
The Rutgers team receives significant funding from the Middlesex County Bar Foundation and also the Rutgers Alumni Association.