Luther's Mock Trial Team qualifies for nationals

(left to right) Paul Esker, Jorie Jackson, Abhra Biswas, Kelly Dotseth, Caroline Feeney, Laurie Medford and Sydney Bean.

The Luther College Mock Trial team has qualified to compete in the championships of the Collegiate Mock Trial Competition. Luther advanced to the national competition by placing in the top eight of 22 teams at a regional competition. Luther will be one of 24 teams competing at Waukegan, Illinois, one of eight national tournament sites across the country.

Members of the Luther team include, Abras Biswas, Paul Esker, Caroline Feeney, Jorie Jackson, Laurie Medford, and co-captains Sydney Bean and Kelly Dotseth. Faculty advisor is Michael Engelhardt, professor of political science.

During competition, teams engage in trial simulations, preparing and presenting a mock court case for a panel of two judges. Team members play the role of the lawyers presenting the case and the witnesses called to present evidence. Judges score each individual performance and add up the team points to determine the winner of the round. This year's Mock Trial scenario is a product liability case, featuring a variety of possible charges.