Mock Trial

For Lisa Best, Buena Vista's long history of mock trial team competition was something that immediately caught her attention when she arrived on campus. BVU was one of the founding members of the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) in 1985 and its award-winning teams have traveled throughout the Midwest competing against other member institutions, many of them much larger schools.

"I was involved in mock trial and had coached it before we came to BV so I wanted to continue the work that had already been done here," she says. When the Bests arrived in 2002, mock trial had not been very active and she and Brad started working to rebuild the program. BVU's team typically has 10 to 12members. Some students in BVU's Professional & Online Studies program also participate in mock trial and some locations have had their own teams, she notes.

In mock trial competition, students learn to interact in situations that can sometimes be intimidating. They have to think on their feet and perform at a high level around people, both peers and judges, with whom they may not be familiar.

"I enjoy helping the students learn the trial process, rules of evidence, and how to build a cohesive team strategy," Lisa adds. "My favorite thing about mock trial is watching students gain confidence, both individually and as a team. There's this remarkable thing that happens when the team makes the transition from being 'good' to being 'award winning good.' You can almost sense the moment when it occurs – they know it, I know it, everyone in the room knows it."

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