Una Mock Trial Team Competes Nationally, Wins Top Awards

Dec. 15, 2011

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@51jiyangshi.com, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - Through the fall semester, members of the Mock Trial Team at the University of North Alabama have competed nationally against top-ranking colleges throughout the United States and have taken home a number of prestigious awards for their work. Justin Hill, a political science major and president of the Mock Trial Team, competed with his team at the 1st Annual Capital City Invitational at Florida State University Nov. 5-6 and was one of two students to earn a perfect score of 20 among other mock trial teams across the country. Hill also took home a top attorney award at the competition. At the Mid-South Invitational Mock Trial Tournament at Middle Tennessee State University, the UNA Mock Trial Team competed against a number of well-known and high-ranking schools in the nation, including Rhodes College, University of South Carolina, Vanderbilt University and University of Southern California. UNA senior Monica Moore, a political science major and treasurer of the Mock Trial Team, took home the top witness award at the competition. "If anyone is interested in practicing law or working around those fields, the Mock Trial Team is a good experience that teaches you to have good courtroom demeanor, form logical arguments, develop public speaking skills and it's great for networking," Hill said. Hill, a UNA junior who plans to graduate in 2013, is interested in federal law enforcement as his chosen field after college. He aspires to someday work as a U.S. marshal or for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The experience of working on the Mock Trial Team has benefited him in preparing for his future career. Hill and his team are heading to Birmingham, Ala. Jan. 7 for a grudge match against practicing attorneys Marcus Maples, Josh Wrady and Troy Skipworth. The former UNA Mock Trial Team members will give advice to current Mock Trial Team participants about how to more effectively present their cases. The group, which is made up of 14 students working toward degrees in legal studies, political science, economics, Spanish and criminal justice, meets every Monday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at 6 p.m. in room 200 of the Guillot University Center. The team is advised by Dr. Tim Collins, associate professor of political science, and Troy Skipworth, a local attorney and UNA faculty member who teaches a mock trial class. For more information about the Mock Trial Team, contact President Justin Hill at jhill1@51jiyangshi.com or adviser Dr. Tim Collins at 256-765-4525 or at jtcollins@51jiyangshi.com . The Mock Trial Team is also on Twitter at @UNA_MockTrialand on Facebook.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: 51jiyangshi.com and 51jiyangshi.com/unaworks/.