Pursuant to AMTA Rule 3.5, all students who compete in AMTA-sanctioned tournaments must complete the AMTA Current Competitor Registration Form now available on the AMTA website at the Individual Registration subpage under the AMTA Registration tab. Please direct any questions regarding this policy to AMTA's Development Chair, Jacelyn Palmer, at jpalmer03@hamline.edu.

9:25:55 pm . 08/16/10 . announcements

On August 13, AMTA released the 2010-2011 civil case, Davis v. HappyLand Toy Company, which was written by Erin Coltrera of Washington & Lee University. The case is available under the “Mock Trial Cases” menu.

Log-in information has been sent to the official contact person of all programs that have completed the registration form and whose registration payments have been received and processed by AMTA. See AMTA Rule 2.10(4). Please direct any questions about registration payments to Susan Ewing at amta@dwx.com. In addition, please note the provisions of AMTA Rules 2.10 and 2.12 that authorize sanctions for engaging in, providing, or facilitating unauthorized case access.

The Civil Case Committee intends to release an edited version of the Davis case sometime during the weekend of September 4-6. No substantive changes are planned—simply the correction of any typographical or other formal errors that are discovered during the initial release period. Participants are encouraged to bring any perceived errors to the attention of the committee’s chair (Toby Heytens; tobyheytens@gmail.com) by Thursday, September 2. Please include the word “Davis” in the subject line.

12:25:10 pm . 08/13/10 . announcements

As discussed above, the 2010-11 AMTA civil case will involve beads. Schools wishing to present the beads as physical evidence may purchase a packet of beads from AMTA. Only these beads may be used in trial. AMTA anticipates that most schools will want to purchase one packet per team, but schools may purchase as many (or as few) packets as they choose. The case materials will include a photograph of the beads, and some teams may choose to use that photograph in lieu of purchasing any bead packets.

Each packet of beads costs $5.00. To purchase the beads, please send a check to AMTA in the appropriate amount. Schools that have not yet submitted their registration payment for the 2010-11 season are encouraged to add the cost of the bead packet(s) to their registration costs and send AMTA a single check.

Teams wishing to purchase the beads MUST also enclosed a self-addressed and pre-stamped envelope. One pre-stamped envelope (with 44 cents postage) can accommodate up to four packets of beads. ***AMTA will not process any bead order until it has received the self-addressed stamped envelope.***

11:09:22 am . 07/21/10 . announcements

AMTA is proud to announce that it has created an official twitter account, open for everyone to follow, @AMTAMockTrial.

Please follow us on Twitter, to keep apprised of all announcements related to the American Mock Trial Association.

9:41:35 am . 01/19/10 . announcements

Pursuant to Rule 2.9(3) - AMTA does not make accommodations due to school breaks unless the institution can provide a written policy stating that they are prohibited from competing. Otherwise, it is not considered a conflict. This is necessary because of the large number of schools having winter/spring break at any given time. Accordingly, teams must operate under the assumption that it may be assigned to compete at a Regional or ORCS tournament on a date which they listed as a conflict. The rule provides as follows:

Rule 2.9

(3) POLICY ON CONFLICTS AND SCHOOL BREAKS. While schools may notify AMTA of scheduling conflicts due to winter, spring, quarter, or other breaks, exam periods, and similar matters, AMTA will not necessarily accommodate such reported conflicts. A school with a written policy which prohibits the school’s attendance a sanctioned tournament during a break or exam period shall provide a copy of the full school policy to the Tournament Administration Committee Chair.

2:42:42 pm . 10/19/09 . announcements

AMTA is pleased to announce its new partnership with Kaplan, the premier provider of LSAT preparation courses and law school admissions information. All AMTA participants and alumni are eligible for discounts on Kaplan products. To access the Kaplan page designed just for AMTA participants, log on to the current case page - the URL is listed simply as "Kaplan" in the "Case Documents" section.

Look for Kaplan representatives at your regional tournaments!

8:59:04 am . 02/5/09 . announcements

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