Skip To Content
Filter search
Cal Poly Pomona
  • LIBRARY
  • ONLINE SERVICES
  • DIRECTORY
  • MAPS
  • CALENDAR
  • About Cal Poly Pomona
  • Cal Poly Pomona Overview
  • Visitor Information
  • Campus Maps & Tours
  • News
  • Events
  • Administration
  • Annual Security Report
  • Campus Safety Plan
  • Admissions
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • Graduate Admissions
  • International Admissions
  • Continuing Education Admissions
  • Military & Veterans Admissions
  • Financial Aid & Scholarships
  • Student Accounts & Fees
  • Outreach, Recruitment, & Educational Partnerships
  • Academics
  • Colleges & Departments
  • Majors & Degrees
  • University Catalog & Academic Schedules
  • University Library
  • Research
  • Academic Resources
  • Registrar
  • Campus Life
  • Student Services
  • Student Activities
  • Recreation & Fitness
  • Health & Wellness
  • Housing & Dining
  • Diversity
  • Calendars & Events
  • Campus Safety & Emergency Info
  • Athletics
  • Visit Athletics Website
  • Alumni
  • Visit Alumni Website
  • Giving
  • Why Give
  • Ways to Give
  • Where to Give

PolyCentric University News Center

Main Menu
  • About Our University
  • Admissions
  • Academics
  • Campus Life
  • Athletics
  • Giving
  • Expand/Collapse Menu
Browse: Home / 2015 / February / Mock Trial Team Secures Nationals Spot

PolyCentric

University News Center

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
    • Submissions
    • Contact
    • Department of Strategic Communications
    • PolyCentric
  • News
    • Browse by Topic
    • View All Stories
    • In Memoriam
    • Archives
  • Achievements
  • Announcements
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Social Media Directory
  • Events
  • For the Media

Mock Trial Team Secures Nationals Spot

Posted on February 23, 2015

Part of the Cal Poly Pomona Mock Trial Team at the regional competition.
Part of the Cal Poly Pomona Mock Trial Team at the regional competition.

Coming off of a successful season, the Cal Poly Pomona Mock Trial team has qualified to participate in the national competition.

Over Valentine’s Day weekend, the team competed in regionals at Fresno State University and placed in the top five. This is only the third time in the team’s history that it has secured a spot in the national competition.

Additionally, the team received an individual attorney award, an individual witness award, and the Spirit of AMTA team award.  Fellow competitors awarded it to the Cal Poly Pomona team who exemplified the ideals of kindness, fairness, civility, and fair play. The team was the only California State University who qualified to go to nationals, beating out Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Fresno State, and Sonoma State.

Throughout the season, the team has competed against some of the highest ranked teams in the country, including Columbia, Pepperdine and Vanderbilt. The team has won many distinctions, including an honorable mention at UCLA’s mock trial tournament held Jan. 17-19. Teammates Andrew Rodriguez and Ashling Kelly each received an individual top attorney award, making Cal Poly Pomona the only school to win two attorney awards. At Stanford University’s Mock Trial Invitational on Jan. 24-25, Kelly took home the perfect attorney award, making her the highest ranked attorney at the entire competition.

Cal Poly Pomona’s Mock Trial team consists of 18 students and advisor Raul Sabado, an alumnus and lawyer in Claremont. While on the team, students learn how to direct and participate in a single case, taking on roles as attorneys and witnesses. This year’s civil case involved a fatal shooting between two minors, with the victim’s parents filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the shooter’s parents.

In competition, they alternate between representing the prosecution and the defense. Because there are no scripts, the team members must be able to recall information about the case instantly and think on the spot. Through the experience, they learn about American civil and criminal law.

Rodriguez, mock trial president and a philosophy student, says that the team is ready to take on the national competition.

“We placed against some of the top teams in the nation, including the returning national champion UCLA, so we are very excited,” he says. “For us, it means that we can make any vision or dream come true when we work together and show sincere effort and honest intentions. To prepare for nationals, we are fine tuning our performances, and working smart to improve our weaker areas as a team.” ​

The national competition will be held April 17-19 at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

Posted in Achievements | Tags College of Letters Arts and Social Sciences, competitions, mock trial, Students and Campus Life

POPULAR

  • CLASS Dean Iris Levine

    CLASS Act: Dean Levine Sets High Bar for Herself and Others

    326 views / Posted January 11, 2021
  • Graphic with illustration of Martin Luther King Jr.

    MLK Day Celebrations Include Student-Centric Volunteer Opportunities

    121 views / Posted January 14, 2021
  • Expanded Early Exit Program Info Session

    33 views / Posted January 5, 2021
  • Travel Health Orders

    24 views / Posted January 5, 2021
  • Mansion Lane Closure Update

    24 views / Posted January 5, 2021

Picture of the Day »

Toy Drive

Toy Drive

Cal Poly Pomona in the News »

College students reflect on their first semester experiences

Mailani Matsuno, who is taking classes from her home in Guam, interviewed about her reasons for studying from home and adjusting to the time differences between home and her classes.…

Honoring California architecture students through scholarship at the 2020 2×8 Virtual Exhibition


NMSU student research outlines problems in private immigration detention facilities


Out of work during the pandemic, Riverside woman starts charcuterie business, Mel’s Boozy Bites


10 rock stars with impressive college degrees


Tags
College of Letters Arts and Social Sciences, competitions, mock trial, Students and Campus Life
About Cal Poly Pomona Feedback Privacy Accessibility Document Readers

3801 West Temple Avenue,Pomona, CA 91768

©2018 California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

All Rights Reserved