Sam Mercer Grant Story

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Sam Mercer Grant Story

Gaining Experience: Tulane University Mock Trial Participates in National Competition

Sam Mercer Mock Trial Team

Due to the generosity of the NTC Deans Grant, Tulane University Mock Trial had the opportunity to establish itself as a competitive program in the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) at its competition in Tampa Bay, Florida. There are over 700 teams in AMTA, and this season, with the help of NTC, Tulane has been able to shine among hundreds.

In the past two years, the mock trial program has gained significant momentum as it went from 0 trophies to 16. The trip to Tampa Bay solidified the program as one of the most successful in Tulane history and has widened the available opportunities for the program around the country for the years to come. On January 27th, Tulane Mock Trial flew to Tampa Bay to compete at the Bull Bowl Invitational Tournament hosted by the University of South Florida. The Tulane B-Team, led by captains Josh Pearlman and Sania Islam held a strategic advantage over other teams at the tournament- team cohesion. The team was able to work and communicate effectively with each other, which was conducive to a record-breaking performance for Tulane. The team received guidance from senior leaders Sam Mercer and Kat Cuneo who provided strategic insight to trial procedure to aid a strong showing.

Mock Trial Trophy Winners

The team competed extremely well. Tulane broke school records and made mock trial history! For the first time in school history, the mock trial team had 4 individual award winners:

•    Josh Pearlman won an outstanding witness award
•    Sania Islam won an outstanding attorney award
•    Kat Cuneo won an outstanding attorney award
•    Sam Mercer won an outstanding attorney award 

And for the first time ever, two Tulane competitors finished with the top two individual scores in the tournament. And for the first time ever, Tulane had a competitor finish with a perfect score. Overall, Tulane Mock Trial had a high-achieving tournament, and more importantly, the school received significant praise from the tournament hosts for good sportsmanship. It is a belief of Tulane Mock Trial that regardless of the outcome of the tournament, we must show good sportsmanship to elevate the standing of the school we are proud to represent.