Achievements

David Ben-Merre, chair and professor of English, who serves on the board of directors for the American Mock Trial Association (the governing board for collegiate mock trial), teaches the HON 101 “Introduction to Mock Trial” course at Buffalo State. 

On February 21–22, the Buffalo State Mock Trial team was one of 26 teams from the northeast and Canada competing at the American Mock Trial Association’s (AMTA) Buffalo Regional Tournament. Over 800 teams from universities and colleges across the country competed at 32 Regional Tournament sites throughout February. The top six teams from each Regional advanced to the Opening Round Championship Series. The Buffalo State team won two ballots against two different St. John Fisher teams and narrowly lost two ballots by only one point in two other trials.

Nick Smith (sophomore, political science) was the top attorney of the tournament for Buffalo State, scoring 16 total ranks on the side of the Prosecution and narrowly missing one of the tournament’s overall “Outstanding Attorney Awards” by one rank. Darling Arias (junior, forensic chemistry) was the top witness of the tournament for Buffalo State, scoring 14 total ranks on the side of the Prosecution. They were joined by team co-captains Michael Helfrich (junior, economics), who had 11 total ranks as a Defense attorney, and Julia Lynch (sophomore, TFA), who, as the Defendant, was recognized as the top witness of Round 3. Freshmen Olivia Czarnecki and Lexi Hoffman, who recently joined the team, excelled in their first tournament as attorneys. Jack Dziedzic (junior, music education) was a top Prosecution witness in Round 4 and freshman Sam Hawerbier (sophomore, social work) was recognized as one of the top witnesses of Round 3.

This year featured a criminal case: the Defendant was charged with murdering a fellow contestant on a tv reality competition show. While the case itself is fictional, the simulated trial is based on the real Federal Rules of Evidence. The competitors are given over 250 pages of material, including witness affidavits, case law, statutes, pretrial motions, stipulations, and exhibits. During each trial, students are responsible for eliciting the facts in the case (through nine different witnesses ranging from investigators, forensic scientists, and various eyewitnesses), while arguing the law before judges (who are usually practicing attorneys themselves). The Buffalo State team is composed of former students in the HON 101 “Introduction to Mock Trial” course.  For more information about collegiate mock trial, contact David Ben-Merre at benmerdn@buffalostate.edu.