The American Mock Trial Association
Was founded in 1985 by Dean Richard Calkins of Drake Law School. AMTA serves as the governing body for intercollegiate mock trial competition. Through engaging in trial simulations in competition with teams from other institutions, students develop critical thinking and public speaking skills, as well as a knowledge of legal practices and procedures. AMTA sponsors regional and national-level competitions, as well as providing interesting and complex case materials for academic use. AMTA also sponsors mediation simulation tournaments.

To join AMTA and register for either Mock Trial or Mediation, please use the links under the Registration menu. For more information, contact the AMTA office at the address and phone number located at the bottom of this page.

2008 - 2009 AMTA Rulebook Now Available.

The 2008 - 2009 AMTA Rulebook has been updated, and is currently available on the Tabulation page.

11:03:05 am . 08/21/08 . announcements

Release of 2008–09 National Case Problem

The Civil Case Committee has released this year’s case, Drew Walton v. Blitz News Network. The case is based on the submission of Tom Burke from Harvard Law School and Adam Siry from Columbia Law School. We hope students find this case educational and challenging.

Schools that have paid fully their registration fees should receive the access information from Susan Ewing. If you have any questions about this, please contact Susan at amta@dwx.com. Once you have the access information, you can login to view and download the case materials by going to the “Mock Trial Cases” page under this website’s “Mock Trial” tab. Once logged in, you can download the entire case as a single PDF or download the various case documents individually.

If you spot typos or errors in the case, please email Justin Bernstein at irvine.coach@gmail.com. We appreciate the help.

8:13:13 am . 08/11/08 . announcements

Call for criminal case submissions

The AMTA Criminal Case Committee is now accepting submissions for the 2009/2010 National Case Problem. Those interested in submitting a 1 to 2 page proposal of a case in order to receive general committee feedback should do so by November 15, 2008. The Criminal Case Committee will reply to all such proposals by December 15, 2008. The deadline for final case submission is March 1, 2009. The aforementioned should be submitted to Criminal Case Chair Jason Butler in an electronic format at jbutler@louisvilleprosecutor.com.

The following is a list of priorities that the Criminal Case Committee has for submissions:

- Ability for the State to arguably prove its case with three witnesses.

- Case balance, acknowledging that criminal cases are particularly difficult to balance and techniques should be employed accordingly. Examples include the use of affirmative defenses.

- Creative fact problems and/or issues of law.

General AMTA case requirements are as follows:

- A minimum of 8 witnesses.

- All witnesses must be gender-neutral, as characterized in the affidavits. This requires case authors to avoid all forms of gender stereotyping, in addition to assigning gender-neutral names to witnesses.

- Case changes for the Opening Round Championship (see the announcement immediately below this one, Notice of Unified National Tournament).

- Lines of testimony in each affidavit are to be numbered.

3:17:14 pm . 08/5/08 . announcements

Notice of Unified National Tournament

Beginning with the 2008-2009 season, all member institutions should be aware that AMTA has adopted a unified national system. Said system will, by its nature, necessitate that teams competing at the National Championship Tournament will have to compete at both Regionals and an Opening Round Championship Site.

9:51:04 am . 07/24/08 . announcements

2008-2009 Bid Allocation Memo

The 2008-2009 Bid Allocation Memo has been added to the tabulation page.

This memo highlights the change over to the unified National System adopted by the American Mock Trial Association Board of Directors.

Please review this memo, as it highlights significant changes in our post-season operating procedures.

7:38:44 am . 07/23/08 . announcements

2008-2009 Bonus Bid Rankings Now Available

The 2008-2009 Bonus Bid Rankings are now available on the Tabulation Page.

In the event any errors are discovered, please email the AMTA Tabulation Director at kristofer.lyons@gmail.com.

6:51:13 am . 07/23/08 . announcements

AMTA 2008 Board Meeting Agenda Now Available

Click here to view the Board Meeting Agenda.

7:52:15 pm . 06/23/08 . announcements

2008-2009 Regional Host Proposal Form now available

The Request for Proposals to host AMTA Regional Tournaments is now available on the Regionals page.

Continuing hosts will be notified if they need to submit a new proposal.

Prospective hosts should follow the directions in the RFP.

6:00:42 pm . 05/8/08 . announcements

MTA Teaching Assistants

Mock Trial Academy is looking for Teaching Assistants for this summer's program. For information on the camp itself, please visit www.mocktrialacademy.com.

For information on the position, or to apply, please email Alicia Hawley at information@mocktrialacademy.com.

12:14:35 pm . 04/10/08 . announcements

AMTA Name Wedges Available

For the convenience of participants, AMTA is offering a 3-sided name wedge, with each side carrying a plate reading "Prosecution," "Plaintiff" or "Defense." These durable wooden wedges can be used for multiple years, regardless of whether the case involves a civil or criminal action. Name wedges may be purchased from AMTA for $35 each, which includes shipping. Please contact Susan Ewing at the AMTA office to place your order in time for the upcoming season.

Purchase of a name wedge from AMTA is not required, but all teams must comply with the requirement that counsel tables be marked with placards. Hosts will NOT provide placards for this purpose.

9:05:34 pm . 08/31/06 . announcements