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K-State Today

March 8, 2013

See a mock trial argued by students Saturday, March 9

Submitted by Bondy Kaye-Valdovinos

The Kansas State Mock Trial Club invites you to come watch Andy Allen v. Neptune Underwater Expeditions mock trial scrimmage as argued by the K-State Varsity Mock Trial Team. The scrimmages will take place at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on March 9 in the K-State Student Union Little Theater. Lunch with the team and coaches will be provided at 12:30 p.m. in 311 Nichols Hall.

A mock trial scrimmage is a real court simulation that includes opening statements, examinations of witnesses, objections and closing arguments. A mock judge will preside and a mock jury will deliberate. For this scrimmage, the K-State undergraduate attorneys will be facing a team made up of their coaches; two practicing attorneys and a former mock trial champion. The purpose of the scrimmage is to prepare the varsity trial team for the national championship tournament March 15-17.

The team has been working with a case published by the American Mock Trial Association, sent to hundreds of universities nationwide each year. The case includes witness affidavits, expert reports, items of evidences, legal documents and rule of evidence.

The case this year involves a tragedy at sea.

One hundred seventy feet beneath stormy Atlantic waters, one lone scuba diver has been left inside of a sunken ship to die. The diver was left there by the very company that said it would keep him safe but then did the exact opposite.

However, the dive company was unaware that the diver lacked the necessary experience to be on such a dive and suffered from a medical condition that would make scuba diving more dangerous. The diver had essentially bluffed his way onto the expedition.

Complicating matters, a severe tropical storm unexpectedly hit the location of the sunken ship shortly after the dive began. The ship itself was too deep for divers who were not specially certified, in violation of scuba diving industry standards.

The team is sponsored by the K-State pre-law program and the department of communication studies. The varsity team includes Bondy Kaye, Josh Wilson, Torrey Peterson, Brandon Katt, Ryan Reed, Haley Claxton, J. Colin Reynolds, Erica Waltman and Sarah Haley.