A four-person 3L team of Brendan Moore Trial Advocates won the first ever Queens County District Attorney’s Mock Trial Competition on March 1. The winning team consisted of Katie McCabe ’15, Evan King ’15, Dan Tibbets ’15, and Kate Flately ’15. McCabe also won Best Advocate in the preliminary rounds of the competition.
The Fordham team had three weeks to prepare a criminal law case for the competition. They were coached by Fordham Law alumni Kelly Anne Holohan ’07 and Vicki Hill Clarkson ’13. Their competitors were primarily New York schools, including Touro, Cardozo, and St. John’s. Fordham Law defeated Hofstra in the final round of the competition.
The competition was judged by Queens Supreme Court Justices and Criminal Court judges, including Judge Stephanie Zaro, Justice Robert C. McGann, Justice Gregory Lasak, and Justice Joseph A. Zayas. Additionally, the jury for the competition was made up of members of the police academy in Queens. According to McCabe, the jury deliberated aloud after each trial to give the competitors an idea of the effectiveness of their performance.
“It was useful to prepare us for a real world trial where there would, in fact, be a jury of lay people rather than experienced attorneys,” McCabe said.
Brendan Moore Chair in Advocacy James Kainen said the competition was an especially exciting opportunity for the Fordham students because some of the officials in charge of hiring decisions at the Queens DA office sat in on the mock trials.
McCabe was glad for the chance to showcase her mock trial ability in front of potential employers.
“This was a good way to show the office our dedication and skills in the criminal law field,” she said.