The Daily Bulletin Archive

Buffalo State hosted the American Mock Trial Association’s 2019 Great Lakes Regional Tournament for the ninth consecutive year on February 23 and 24, with 20 college teams from across the region competing. Jon Lines, lecturer of political science, and Kelly Boos, executive assistant to the dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences, organized and hosted the event, while local attorneys, judges, and faculty members acted as presiding judges and juries.

Buffalo State’s team members included Mimi Byrne, Taliyah Gordon, Teddi Hastreiter, and Aniyah Williams acting as witnesses; John Quinane, Justin Rose-Askew, and Taylor Seymour performing as attorneys; and Hailey Ables and Jessa Matteson competing in both roles.

Taylor Seymour received an "outstanding attorney award"—given only to the 10 top attorneys out of the more than 150 competitors. Mimi Byrne (testifying as the expert "Dr. Hawkins") was Buffalo State’s top witness for the weekend. Each team member received at least one vote from a judge for a top ranking.

Mock trial is an intercollegiate competition in which students prepare fictional court cases for a simulated trial. Each year, the American Mock Trial Association, the governing body for collegiate mock trial, puts together a new case complete with case law, affidavits, depositions, expert reports, evidence, and more. This year’s case was a civil one, Midlands Television Studios Inc. v. Danny Kosack.

Kosack (the defendant) was scheduled to appear with his chimpanzee Elias on the late-night talk show Midlands After Dark with Alex Grace, produced by MTS (the plaintiff). During a rehearsal before the show, the chimp attacked several people in the room. A writer for the plaintiff was killed in the attack, and the plaintiff and the defendant sued each other for negligence.

Students of all majors and career goals are invited to join the team. For more information, please contact David Ben-Merre, associate professor of English.