TRIAL BY FIRE

Nights in the courtroom are longer than ever as regionals weekend approaches for the UB Mock Trial team.

"So it's true that you're paid for your time in court," the prosecutor asked the witness on Monday night.

"Yes, I am paid handsomely," the witness replied.

Mock Trial President Ryan Flaherty stepped out of character as the cross-examiner just long enough to critique his group member's tone and word choice for the reply. The UB Mock Trial team hopes to polish skills like these in time to bring a trophy home from the regional competitions at Syracuse University and Yale this weekend.

The American Mock Trial Association brings teams together from all over the nation to compete at hosting universities, with SU hosting UB's top two Mock Trial teams on Saturday and Sunday. The third team journeys to Yale this weekend to compete as the "C" group.

"A 'win' this year is having all three teams beat as many teams as they can, and hopefully getting a bid to the National Championship," Flaherty said in an interview with The Spectrum.

According to Flaherty, while many team members anticipate success at the competition, the Mock Trial team is undergoing a "transition" year and plans on recruiting talent for the fall.

"We always have to keep a realistic point of view," he said. "Many of the teams we compete against have a very large budget, have coaches and advisers, and are able to devote more time and effort to the club if it is a class or a course at their college or university," he said.

To beat those teams, UB's Mock Trial will have to perform multiple rounds as both defense and prosecution in front of official Mock Trial judges. Teams are given one to 10 points per judge based on everything from opening to closing statements, and the winning team receives the "ballot," Flaherty explained. Ballots determine the ultimate winner of the regional competition.

"We're constantly trying to win each and every ballot that we can," Flaherty said. "The teams with the five best records at the end of the fourth round will move on to nationals."

While Flaherty and other experienced members on the A and B teams compete with other schools in Syracuse, the C team will be comprised of fresher faces and will duke it out at Yale.

"The members on the C team usually are brand new to mock trial," said Team C co-captain Eric Pawlak in an e-mail. He went on, "Since we are [competing] at Yale, our team is going to be competing against multiple teams from Harvard, Yale, NYU, Tufts, UConn, and Fordham. The other Buffalo teams are going to be competing against equally tough opponents, like Cornell."

Flaherty said he is excited and nervous about the upcoming competition, but admitted, "I think we'll win most of our ballots."

He plans on intensifying the group's recruiting efforts once nationals season is over in March, because the club "lost many key players to graduation" last year. Interested students can contact the group at ubmocktrial@gmail.com.

Flaherty told The Spectrum that although he predicts success this weekend, what's most important to him is doing his best and helping his club do the same.

"I want to live up to the past performances of this club. Mock Trial has a history of winning."