Lafayette Campus News (www.lafayette.edu), November 13, 2007 — After a strong performance in the American Mock Trial Association’s Hamline National Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn., last school year, Lafayette’s Mock Trial Team is hoping to raise the bar even further this year.
The College’s Team A placed fifth at the College-hosted Colonial Regional Mock Trial competition in February and followed that with another fifth-place finish at the national tournament in March.
According to Adam Pie ’09 (Doylestown, Pa.), a history major and president of the team, the team’s goal is to take first in the region competition this year and have both Team A and B qualify for nationals.
“We feel we have many talented returning and new members and we aim to send both of our teams to the national tournament,” says Pie.
The team is also looking forward to hosting the Cartoon Classic annual invitational tournament Nov. 30 - Dec. 2 in various rooms of Pardee Hall.
The Cartoon Classic received its name because competing teams are given the names of cartoon characters, such as Charlie Brown and Mickey Mouse, instead of traditional team numbers. A total of 26 teams will participate including: Villanova University, University of Pennsylvania, Hamilton College, Rutgers University, Johns Hopkins University, Colby College, Amherst College, University of New Hampshire, Suffolk University, Wesleyan College, and Elizabethtown College.
This year’s season has included the Penn Quaker Classic at the University of Pennsylvania during the weekend of Nov. 10. Team B placed fifth out of 32 teams. Individual awards for Best Witness were given to Rich Beatty ’08 (Milford, N.J.), a history and government & law major, and Jason Pang ’10 (San Mateo, Calif.), a government and law major. Matthew Pisciotta ’09 (Lynbrook, N.Y.), a government and law major, received a perfect score and the Best Attorney award.
“The Penn Quaker Classic was our first true test of the year to determine how close we are to competing with the other schools in our region,” says Pie.
This season’s schedule also includes a competition at Cornell University the weekend of Jan. 26 and the regional competition in February.
Lafayette’s Mock Trial Team is divided into two sub-teams for competition purposes. Team A includes co-captains Pisciotta and TarynAnn Barry ’09 (Bridgewater, N.J.), a history and government & law double major. Also on Team A are: Pang, chemistry major Ryan Osterweil ’08 (Forest Hills, N.Y.), Carolyn Fast ’10 (Rockaway, N.J.), government & law and anthropology & sociology double major Lisa Van Batavia ’08 (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.), mathematics and chemistry double major Adel Lomibao ’08 (Easton, Pa.), history major Brett Doyle ’11 (Lakeside, Conn.), and history major Michael Gadomski ’09 (Bronxville, N.Y.).
Team B is comprised of team captain and government & law and American studies double major Sarah Bruno ’08 (Wilkes Barre, Pa.), Pie, Beatty, economics and business major T. Daniel Reynolds ’08 (Gates Mills, Ohio), English major Margi Schierberl ’10 (West Hartford, Conn.), civil engineering major Elizabeth Mancuso ’11 (Nanuet, N.Y.), English and government & law double major Amy Polizzano ’08 (Bethlehem, Pa.), Stephen Beavan ’11 (Nazareth, Pa.), and Jeff Beavan ’09 (Nazareth, Pa.), who is pursuing a B.S. in civil engineering and an A.B. in economics & business.
The team is coached by Diane Elliott ’74, visiting instructor of government and law, and Rob Fallone ’04. Carmella Karns, administrative assistant for forensics and the government and law department, serves as logistics coordinator for the team.
This year’s fictitious case is The State of Midlands vs. Bobbi Campbell. Don/Dawn Francis, a Child Protective Services worker, entered the home of Bobbi Campbell to remove a child from Campbell’s care. Upon Francis’ entrance, Campbell stabbed Francis with a needle infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Campbell entered into an open guilty plea on the single charge of assault in the second degree and retained the right to a jury sentence recommendation. The mock trial teams are focused on the penalty phase. The State will present evidence of aggravation and the defense may present evidence of mitigation. The penalty range is five to 30 years.
