Rutgers Mock Trial Association A team and coaches with national runners-up trophy.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The dedicated undergraduates comprising the Rutgers University Mock Trial Association don’t have much free time to spend on ball fields or dance floors, but that doesn’t mean they don’t pass hours practicing their moves.

The 25 future lawyers work diligently to perfect their incredulous stares at the testimony of less-than-credible witnesses and objections to opposing counsel’s line of questioning. They spend hours crafting closing arguments to win over the most predisposed of jurors.

“Yes, courtroom is theater,” says attorney and volunteer association coach Craig Aronow, a founding partner of the New Brunswick law firm Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP. “There can be lots of acting and lots of drama.”

Nearly eight months of hard work paid off handsomely for the students recently. In Rutgers’ first trip to the American Mock Trial Association finals, the eight-member A Team became national runner-up in the 658-team competition, losing to Duke by a mere five points in the nerve-wracking, three-day finals in Minneapolis. The squad had been seeded 47th in the 48-team championship field. Individually, senior captain Stephanie Ashley from Newton, N.J., finished in the top 10 student-attorneys in a field of 150 competitors and was named Rutgers’ first All-American attorney. Only 26 of about 3,000 student-attorneys nationwide are so honored each year. She plans to teach in the New York City school system under the Teach for America program before entering law school.

The A Team – Ashley,  outgoing RUMTA President Dahoud Askar, Kyle Brach, Greg Cui, Rachel Holt, Zaniah Maynor, Travis Nunziato and Jennifer Przybylski – wasn’t the only squad to post its best finish in the association’s five-year existence. For the first time, the B team advanced beyond the regional tournament in Baltimore and reached the Championship Opening Round in Newport Beach, Calif., before losing to UCLA (last year’s champion) and Stanford.

The road to Minneapolis began last August, when teams received case prep packages – including affidavits, evidence and statements of law – for the trial State of Midlands v. Danny Dawson. The case centered around three friends celebrating one’s 21st birthday in a bar, and a subsequent auto accident leading to the death of a member of the trio and DUI and murder charges against the driver. Students prepared as both prosecutors and defense attorneys, and teammates served as witnesses for each side.

After recruiting new members through the first-year Student Involvement Fair and social media, the association roster was filled and three teams were selected. Next came hours of team and individual practice and practice tournaments at the Coast Guard Academy and Swarthmore. The intercollegiate tournament began in February and there was no letup in preparation until the final scores were announced in Minneapolis. Sitting trial judges, practicing attorneys and students with mock trial experience judged student-lawyers’ courtroom work.

“I’m so proud of the character of my teammates,” said Askar, a four-year association member who is headed to Harvard Law School in the fall. “Everyone has such amazing passion and dedication. On a personal level, I went from a stuttering freshman to being comfortable and confident speaking in a large public setting to having a personal conversation in an interview for a fellowship. I couldn’t conceive of being where I am without this experience.”

The RUMTA received generous financial and other support from the Office of the Vice President for Undergraduate Education Barry Qualls, political science professor and pre-law adviser Milton Heumann, the Middlesex County Bar Foundation and several local law firms.

Attorneys Michael Roberts and Kimberly Yonta joined Aronow as assistant team coaches.