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Mock Trial Team Qualifies for Championship
Mock Trial Red Team
Members of the Mock Trial
Red Team, which qualified for
the National Championship
Tournament
For the third year running, one of ISU’s mock trial teams has qualified to compete in the most prestigious of three national tournaments. The team qualified by placing in the top three in the regional qualifying tournament, which was held in the Will County Court House in Joliet, Illinois. ISU competed against teams from such schools as the University of Illinois, Lewis University, the University of Chicago, DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago, and Eastern Kentucky University. The fourth to seventh place teams at the regional tournament go on to compete in two other "silver" national tournaments. A win in one of those tournaments also qualifies a team for the Championship Tournament. ISU’s second team just missed qualifying to compete in those tournaments. “The fact that this is the third year in a row that we have qualified a team to compete in the National Championship Tournament demonstrates the strength of our mock trial program at ISU,” said Emeritus Professor Tom Eimermann. “This is one of the toughest regions in the country and our students rose to the challenge against some very strong competition.”

Mock Trial White Team
Members of the Mock Trial White Team

In mock trial competition, students conduct research and act out the roles of attorneys and witnesses on a case that is given to them at the beginning of the season. This year’s case was a civil case in which the plaintiff sues a private psychiatric hospital for negligently releasing a patient who posed a danger to the community. The plaintiff sustained injuries that threaten his promising career as a professional golfer when the released mental patient viciously attacked him with a tire iron. Each trial consists of opening statements, three witnesses for each side, and closing arguments. Teams are evaluated based on their effectiveness as attorneys and witnesses.

Individual awards are given to the top 10 attorneys and witnesses at each tournament. In the regional qualifying tournament, Kevin O’Laughlin (a senior political science major from Metamora) and Rebecca Secord (a junior criminal justice science major from New Lenox) each won an Outstanding Attorney Award for placing in the top ten. Jonathan Mikrut (a sophomore political science major from Western Springs) was awarded an Outstanding Witness Award.

Tom Eimermann and Mick Hall
Mock Trial Educator Coach Tom Eimermann and Attorney Coach Mick Hall

The team is coached by Dr. Tom Eimermann, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, and Michael “Mick” Hall, an attorney alumnus with The Hall Law Group, Ltd. in Peoria. Eimermann has served as the Educator Coach of the Mock Trial team since its inception in 1987. Hall was also with the team in 1987, only not as a coach. Hall was a member of ISU’s first Mock Trial team. He now serves at the Attorney Coach and teaches Trial Advocacy at ISU, which is the predicate course students must take before trying out for the mock trial team.

In 2002, Dr. Eimermann established the Eimermann Scholarship to support students competing in mock trial. Many former students and former mock trial competitors continue to contribute to the scholarship account to honor Dr. Eimermann.

The team will compete in the National Championship Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, April 8-10.

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