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Bear Brawl Classic shines light on Mock Trial program

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Mock Trial teams from across the country descended on the Missouri State University campus Nov. 1-3, 2024, to compete in the annual Bear Brawl Classic Mock Trial tournament.

The Bear Brawl Classic is one of many invitational tournaments across the nation that utilize American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) rules and case materials.

MSU’s Mock Trial team not only hosted the event but also competed along with eight other schools. Those schools were Bellarmine University, Hendrix College, Rhodes College, Saint Louis University, University of Central Missouri, University of Mississippi, University of Missouri-Kansas City and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Representatives from MSU’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice organized the tournament. These included Mock Trial coordinators Dr. Jennifer LaPrade and Dr. Jordan Riddell, MSU alum and founding team member Chris Johnson and graduate assistant Samantha Trowbridge.

“The preparation for a tournament like this is a big lift and very time consuming,” said Dr. Brett Garland, head of the criminology and criminal justice school. “Drs. LaPrade and Riddell and our Mock Trial team members deserve a lot of praise for organizing and facilitating this event. I’m personally very proud of them all.”

MSU’s Mock Trial team will next compete at University of Missouri-Kansas City Nov. 22-24.

Tournament winners

Rhodes College took first place in this year’s Bear Brawl Classic. St. Louis University placed second, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln placed third.

Bellarmine University won the Spirit of AMTA award, given to the team that best exemplifies the ideals of honesty, civility and fair play. University of Nebraska-Lincoln received an Honorable Mention.

Top honors for Collison

MSU also garnered some impressive wins during the event.

Junior criminology and criminal justice major Zackary Collison won top honors for outstanding witness, receiving a perfect 20/20 for his role as a defense witness.

“This is my first-ever perfect rank, so I was extremely excited,” Collison said.

Collison started the season playing both a witness and an attorney, but said he will play character witnesses for the remainder of the competitive season.

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CSI Camp brings future crime solvers to MSU campus

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The first of two CSI Camps, hosted by Missouri State University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was held June 10-13.

High school students from around the Midwest, including Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Illinois, attended this year.

The camp offers introductory training in basic criminal evidence-gathering techniques, such as fingerprinting, blood spatter analysis and plaster casting.

Now in its second year, the June camp enjoyed full enrollment of 40 students. The second camp will be held July 8-11.

Expanded training, smaller groups for 2024 camp

According to assistant professor Dr. Samantha Tjaden, camp organizers used what they learned from the 2023 camp to base the 2024 experience on what students want to learn.

“We have added more hands-on experiences to our camp from last year,” Tjaden said. “For example, we were very lucky to have Springfield Police Department investigators come share their experiences with our campers this year. We have also evolved the blood spatter component of our camp to include Luminol.”

“Both years that we have had the CSI camp have been an amazing experience but—like anything—we are learning and adapting to the needs of our campers,” she added.

Teacher explains a procedure to a student
Kamina Andrisevic listens as Dr. Tjaden explains fingerprinting techniques.

Ideas for 2025 camp in the works

Tjaden is not only one of the camp faculty instructors, she also serves on the planning committee with fellow camp instructor Dr. Michael Kyle. Tjaden lends her professional expertise and assists with content delivery and development.

“Professors Kyle and Tjaden are superb at connecting and building rapport with high schoolers, and they both have a wonderful ability to explain complex aspects of forensics in very down-to-earth ways,” said Dr. Brett Garland, head of the criminology and criminal justice school.

Camp organizers are already planning more techniques and topics for 2025, according to Garland.

“I’m looking forward to us integrating more on the search and seizure and interrogation side—since both are critically important to successful investigations—and maybe running interactive scenarios in those areas,” he said.

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Mock Trial’s winning season driven by talent, determination and hard work

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When Dr. Jennifer LaPrade organized MSU’s first-ever Mock Trial team in Fall 2020, it was in the middle of the pandemic.

Young woman giving presentation
Victoria Ogbeifun argues for the prosecution during Mock Trial practice.

That season, the team competed entirely through Zoom.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the Mock Trial team is competing in person against schools like the University of Arkansas and University of Missouri.

And they’re racking up the wins.

The team has won eight team awards and 22 individual awards this season. Mock Trial president and team captain Victoria Ogbeifun, a senior chemistry and microbiology double major who plans to attend medical school, has alone garnered six of those awards for her roles as both prosecuting and defense attorneys.

The team’s record has been so impressive, they were recognized at MSU’s Feb. 16 Board of Governors meeting for their outstanding achievements.

Sights set on regionals

Coming off their recent victories, the team is preparing for the first rounds of regional competition at University of Oklahoma in Norman Feb. 23-25.

“If we are one of the top teams there, we advance to the next level. If we are not one of the top teams, our competitive season is over, so we are working hard to be one of the top teams so we can keep going,” LaPrade said.

According to the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA), winning teams from each regional competition advance to one of eight Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS) tournaments in March. ORCS winners will advance to the National Championship Tournament in April.

At their regional competition, MSU will compete against teams from University of Arkansas, Collin College, Hendrix College, Howard Payne University, Kansas State University, University of Kansas, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Nebraska, University of Oklahoma, Rhodes College and Texas Tech University.

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Mock Trial Team brings home big wins

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Missouri State’s Mock Trial Team won multiple awards at the Derek Morehead and Irene Downs Tournament hosted by University of Missouri-Kansas City Nov. 18-19.

Two teams within the MSU group won first and third place, and six members of the group won individual awards.

MSU competed against such schools as the University of Arkansas, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the University of Mississippi, Creighton University, the University of Kansas and St. Louis University.

This was the team’s third tournament of the season. Already the team has won 15 individual and team awards, according to assistant professor of criminology and Mock Trial Team coach Dr. Jennifer LaPrade.

“To have this kind of success so early in our history is a testament to the talent and work ethic that our students have,” LaPrade said. “I am so proud of our team, and I thank everyone who helps support this program.”

“What an incredible achievement,” said Dr. Brett Garland, Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. “I’m so very proud of what these exceptional students have accomplished and for representing our School, the Reynolds College and MSU with such class.” [Read more…] about Mock Trial Team brings home big wins