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Department of Political and Global Affairs

Department of Political and Global Affairs

Mock Trial

MTSU Mock Trial is a mock trial simulation that teaches the basics of trial courtroom procedure. Students participate as either witnesses or lawyers. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see Frequently Asked Questions.

Participants learn to prepare and deliver opening statements and closing arguments, direct and cross-examinations, and learn how to argue evidentiary objections. Students also become familiar with more subtle aspects of trial work such as courtroom appearance and demeanor.

This course is an excellent opportunity for MTSU students interested in law school. It is also a good opportunity for any student who is interested in a career that involves contact with lawyers, such as corporate finance and compliance, health care, labor relations, law enforcement, or corrections.

Mock Trial is open to all majors/minors. Follow Mock Trial on IG: @mtsumocktrial

Mock Trial is both a class and a team. You do not have to be enrolled in the course to participate, but if you want credit, you can take the PS 2100 course which is 1 credit hour per semester. Counts for EXL credits.

If you choose to compete on the Mock Trial Team, you can travel to other universities to participate in tournaments and competitions. In recent years, the team has traveled to a competition in San Diego, California and Dayton, Ohio, as well as competitions in neighboring states including Georgia, Missouri, and Mississippi.

Mock Trial Officers

President – Brooke Hale (bah3p@mtmail.mtsu.edu)

Vice President – Gael Avila Rojas (gea2m@mtmailmtsu.edu)

Secretary – Dutsch Dorman (dpd2s@mtmail.mtsu.edu)

Treasurer – Gavin Cooley (gc4h@mtmail.mtsu.edu)

Public Relations – Lesly Garcia (lng3m@mtmail.mtsu.edu)

Team Captains: Team A (Dutsch Dorman, Jessie Dicker); Team B (Brody Lambert, Lesly Garcia)

Schedule

Upcoming
  • Spring 2025 schedule has concluded. Check back for Fall 2025 & Spring 2026 – coming soon!
Concluded
  • American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Regional Mock Trial Competition hosted by Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, Mississippi, February 2025.
  • Mid-Missouri Invitational hosted by Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri, January 2025.
  • Grand Ole Tournament hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, November 2024.

News & Updates

  • Mock Trial & LSS welcomed Mr. Wesley Clark, a MTSU political science alumnus and nationally recognized civil rights attorney whose work is featured in the 2023 award-winning investigative podcast, “The Kids of Rutherford County.” The speaker event was followed by a catered lunch in the Honors College. MTSU News coverage can be found here: https://mtsunews.com/wesley-clark-kids-rutherford-county-speak-mtsu/
  • Mock Trial & LSS welcomed the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law to campus in mid-October 2025! They met with students interested in hearing more about their law school’s program.

  • Mock Trial & LSS welcomed the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law to MTSU’s campus on October 1, 2025! They met with students interested in hearing more about their law school’s program.

  • Mock Trial & LSS welcomed Belmont University College of Law to Peck Hall on September 9, 2025. Belmont Law School representatives went over the law program’s offerings, admissions, scholarships and more!
  • Mock Trial & LSS welcomed another legal guest speaker, Mr. Patrick Morrison, a graduate of MTSU’s International Relations program, UTK’s law school program, and current Compliance Counsel with the Tennessee Department of Treasury. All are welcome to come, ask questions, and learn more about Mock Trial. Peck Hall 207 at around 5:00PM, March 27, 2025.
  • Mock Trial & Legal Studies Society welcomed a guest speaker on March 20, 2025, Mr. Joey Kennedy, Associate Corporate Counsel at GEODIS in Brentwood, TN and graduate of Belmont School of Law. He spoke with students at length about his experiences as a MTSU undergraduate, internships/work experience, navigating the legal sphere as a first generation lawyer, and more. We look forward to welcoming Mr. Kennedy back to MTSU to help with Mock Trial & LSS!
  • At the Vanderbilt Grand Old Tournament in November 2024, MTSU Mock Trial team members won “Best Attorney” and “Best Witness” awards.
  • In 2023 – 2024, the MTSU Mock Trial Team went to invitational competitions in Kennesaw, Georgia; San Diego, California; and Nashville, Tennessee, with several students winning “Best Attorney” and “Best Witness” awards.

Mock Trial Coach

For questions or more information, please contact the Mock Trial Attorney Coach/Instructor Mr. David Himmelreich, Esq. He can be emailed at dhimmelreich@mtsu.edu.

Mr. Himmelreich has more than 38 years of experience in administrative, civil, and criminal matters including Medicare and Medicaid fraud and compliance, discipline of health care professionals, representation of state law enforcement, corrections, and securities regulation agencies, and civil and criminal prosecution of white-collar crimes. He is a Former Deputy Attorney General for the State of Tennessee, Special Assistant District Attorney, and Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Western and Middle Districts of Tennessee.

Contact Mock Trial

Email: dhimmelreich@mtsu.edu
Instagram: @mtsumocktrial
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Trowbridge

Frequently Asked Questions

MTSU Mock Trial involves a mock trial simulation that teaches the basics of trial court procedures. Students participate as either witnesses or lawyers.

Participants learn to prepare and deliver opening statements and closing arguments, direct and cross-examinations, and learn how to argue evidentiary objections. Students also become familiar with more subtle aspects of trial work such as courtroom appearance and demeanor.

Essentially, you are learning about how the legal courtroom works in a hands-on setting.

While not required, as a member of the MTSU Mock Trial Team, you can travel to competitions to compete against teams from other universities, meet attorneys and judges to build your network, develop public speaking and problem solving skills, and work as a member of a professional team.

MTSU Mock Trial was founded in 1990 by Dr. John Vile and Dr. Thomas VanDervort. Since its inception, Mock Trial has become an integral part of MTSU’s Pre-Law curriculum – garnering its own class, Legal Courtroom Procedure (Political Science 2100), and simulation trials in other classes such as Law and the Legal System.

MTSU’s Mock Trial organization has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading competitors with several top-ten finishes in the national championship tournament. In addition to regional and national tournaments in the spring, teams have competed and excelled in invitational tournaments throughout the fall, including tournaments at Saint Louis University, Duke, Wheaton College, John Marshall Law School, Rhodes College, Eastern Kentucky University, and at MTSU’s own invitational tournament, the Mid-South Mock Trial Invitational. The Mid-South Mock Trial Invitational was cancelled in 2019 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mock Trial is a student organization that teaches the central proceedings of trial courts through a competitive trial simulation. In mock trial, students play the roles of lawyers and witnesses within a fictional court case. The team from one school portrays the prosecution/plaintiff side of the case using their own attorneys and witnesses, and the team from another school portrays the lawyers and witnesses from the defense side of the case. Teams must be prepared to represent either side of the case.

Students portraying attorneys must question witnesses, make arguments and objections, and enter evidence throughout the trial. The students portraying witnesses must act out interesting and credible characters while being questioned by attorneys from both sides. During competition, trial rounds are judged and scored by practicing attorneys and judges. The scoring panelists determine a winner of each round by scoring team members’ performances and provide constructive feedback.

All members of the team must attend class sessions of PS2100 every Thursday in Peck Hall 211 from 4:30PM – 7:30PM. Team members must also attend weekly team meetings, usually held in the library every Tuesday evening.

You can earn 1 credit hour per semester for PS 2100: Legal Courtroom Procedure. There is an overall limit of 4 hours total you can earn from this course. You do not have to enroll in the class to participate, but it is encouraged if you can fit the courses into your degree plan.

A new hypothetical case comes every August from the American Mock Trial Association. The case file is quite extensive. It contains witness statements, cellphone and text records, screen shots, photographs, diagrams, legal pleadings and orders, and expert reports. You can see more by clicking here: https://www.collegemocktrial.org/

Mr. David Himmelreich, Esq. is the Attorney Coach and instructor. He holds an active law license in Tennessee, has practiced law for 38 years and has handled jury trials in civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts.

He has many years of experience teaching trial skills to lawyers at the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, as well as lawyers in programs run by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

He has been with the MTSU Mock Trial Team for several years. He can be reached at dhimmelreich@mtsu.edu.

Yes. You can follow MTSU Mock Trial on social media here. You can visit their website here. Additionally, you can always find updates and news here on this webpage.

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