Western Colorado University Mock Trial Team Shines at Regional Tournament

Western’s all-rookie Mock Trial team narrowly missed a trip to the national tournament after securing two impressive trial victories at the 2025 American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Regional Tournament in Colorado Springs, January 21 to February 2.

The Mock Trial Experience

Mock Trial is a chance for students, many of whom are hoping to attend law school, to take on the role of an attorney on a legal team defending or prosecuting a near-to-life case before a judge, all while earning course credit. For many students, it’s an opportunity to hone essential skills in critical thinking and public speaking and a formative experience that can change the course of a career.

In this year’s competition, hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy and Colorado College, Western students won two of their four trials, beating larger and more experienced programs from the University of Denver and the University of New Mexico.

In the first of those trials, Politics and Government major Trevor Johnson was named the #1 attorney, while teammates Arizona Lee and Jazz Tanner were named among the top witnesses. In the second victory, Computer Science and Politics and Government major Kai Vong was named the #1 attorney, and again, Arizona and Jazz were named among the top witnesses.

Western students gather together to discuss their strategy for the mock trial.

Learning the Case and Preparing for Competition

Faculty advisor and professor of politics and government Dr. Bill Niemi said the students first saw the 300-plus-page case files – with dozens of affidavits, depositions, trial stipulations, evidence exhibits, and hypothetical statutes – in mid-September, just a few weeks after the fall semester started.

During class, Niemi and professor of philosophy Mike King, who was also a faculty advisor, taught the team how to craft a strong case story, make good opening and closing arguments, ask questions of a witness, and direct cross-examinations. It took several months for the team to learn the case, step into new roles, and develop a strategy.

Then, the day before they were planning to leave for the tournament, two of their teammates fell ill and were forced to withdraw from the competition.

“The rest of the team worked with their sick teammates electronically to learn their parts and were able to effectively compete. This is amazing stuff,” Dr. Niemi said. “It is astounding that the rest of the team did so much work for the team so as to still be so competitive in the tournament. This is a fantastic group of students.”

High-Stakes Competition in the Courtroom

The nine students who attended the competition at the El Paso County Terry R. Harris Judicial Complex each took a role on a legal team and went to work on behalf of their clients. Rules allowed for just 15 minutes to make opening and closing arguments, with an additional 25 minutes for direct examination and cross-examination of the trial’s witnesses. If the whole trial took more than three hours, both teams recorded a loss.

“It was intimidating,” junior Politics and Government major and one of the team’s attorneys, Trevor Johnson, said. “But we had a bunch of scrimmages and were able to see what it would look like beforehand. That was the biggest thing. It was just a change of scenery more than anything.”

Skills That Go Beyond the Courtroom

The competition provided Western students with more than just a chance to showcase their legal prowess. It also helped them hone their skills in critical thinking, public speaking, and professional etiquette. While many team members are planning to attend law school, the benefits of mock trial extend beyond those pursuing legal careers.

Kai Vong, a senior double majoring in Computer Science and Politics and Government who was also a team attorney, has many interests and isn’t sure if his career will lead to software development, sports broadcasting, political advocacy, policy work, or litigation. But he does know that his mock trial experience rekindled an interest in the law and renewed his appreciation for the value of adaptability.

“What made our team unique was that none of us had prior experience in Mock Trial. Despite that, we competed well against more experienced teams because of our strong communication and dedication,” he said. “While preparation is key to success, this experience showed me that adaptability and trust in your team are just as important. When things don’t go as planned, stepping up and supporting each other is what truly makes a competitive difference.”