The Rhodes Mock Trial program has set a standard of excellence typical of many programs at the college. Mock Trial began at Rhodes in 1987, when the national tournament consisted of only 56 teams. Since that time, the tournament has blossomed to include more than 600 teams. In the years that Rhodes has competed, they have created an impressive name for themselves. They have placed in the nation's “top ten” on 16 occasions, and they also hold the current record for consecutive national championship tournament appearances at 23 years. They have made it to the national final round seven times, and won the national championship on four separate occasions. They are one of only four schools to have won consecutive national titles - a feat they have twice accomplished. Rhodes also has seen more than fourty of its members win All-American awards, individual awards given to students who have excelled in their particular roles.
Philosophy
Rhodes Mock Trial strives for excellence in every component of the competition. In doing so, each individual will be challenged to improve the limits of his or her ability. We strive to fiercely compete, while also maintaining a high degree of integrity and collegiality.
Our competitive goal continues to be to win both our regional qualifier and the national tournament. Given the ever-increasing quality of the competition and the inevitable subjectivity of scoring, we cannot stay dominant if we are simply good. We have to strive to be so clearly superior that no judge can possibly give a round to the other team. At the 1994 and 1995 National Championship Tournaments, our top team did not lose a single ballot, winning 22 of 22 ballots.
Instruction
In the classroom, students receive instruction from professors who not only hold Doctorates in Political Science, but who have pursued legal studies at the graduate level and through later research. Such legal research has included a reference book on civil rights law, work on municipal charters, and comprehensive work through criminal justice agencies. Professors have received grants through the Department of Justice for projects in which students have been able to participate. These have included studies of the effect of mandatory sentencing on drunk drivers, pretrial dangers, pretrial release and money bail, and the relationship between drug use and pretrial crime.
Educator coach Marcus Pohlmann founded the Rhodes Mock Trial program in 1986 and continues to actively coach the team. He has had the good fortune of being assisted by highly talented local litigating attorneys, all of whom were themselves former members of the college's mock trial program. Theater professors as well as physicians and other professionals from the area also regularly work with the teams.
Preparation
Prospective mock trial participants begin by taking Interdepartmental 262: Trial Procedure. Besides learning basic trial elements and the Federal Rules of Evidence, the students also join with returning mock trial participants to form practice teams for in-class practice rounds. If ultimately chosen to continue, students compete in a series of intercollegiate invitational tournaments from October through January. Thereafter, the college's "regional teams" are chosen and compete at regional qualifying tournaments in February, with the goal of qualifying for the national tournament in March/April.
Court Room
Thanks to the generous gift of a former mock trial participants, Rhodes has been blessed with a practice facility unmatched outside of a well-equipped law school! This beautiful and functional practice court room allows in-class rounds to occur in a more realistic setting, facilitating a better working understanding of how to try a case in an actual court room. It is also used for practice sessions by the college's intercollegiate teams.
The Students
The Rhodes Mock Trial program attracts a wide variety of students from virtually every major on campus. Some are preparing for law school, while others simply enjoy the excitement of the competition and the camaraderie that such team activities generate.
Internships
Students interested in attending law school may choose to take advantage of law-related internships. Rhodes students working as legal interns for a law firm may attend trials with supervising attorneys, interview potential witnesses, and do legal research. Internships have included the offices of both the prosecutor and public defender, probation, parole, and many others. In addition, internships also have been available in the local offices of elected representatives, with interns working on special projects, responding to constituents, and interacting with staff members in Memphis, Nashville, and Washington, D.C.
Careers
For those continuing in the law, the college has enjoyed a law school acceptance rate of better than 90 percent. This far exceeds the national rate of 70% reported by the Law Council. Increasingly, law schools look for well-rounded applicants who have been involved in activities such as mock trial. Recent law schools attended by Rhodes mock trial alums include Virginia, Harvard, Georgetown, Duke, Texas, Tulane, Chicago, Columbia, and Vanderbilt. Beyond law school, our students have clerked for numerous federal judges, including a clerkship in the United States Supreme Court. They have ultimately settled into private practice, as well as working for county attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders, and attorney generals, only to name a few career paths chosen.
Those students not proceeding to law school have pursued careers in fields such as business, industry, governmental service, the military, and academia. They have held positions such as research analyst, professional athlete, real estate manager, political party field coordinator, fund raiser, and professional musician.
For More Information:
Professor Marcus D. Pohlmann
Department of Political Science
Rhodes College
2000 North Parkway
Memphis, TN 38112
Phone: 901-843-3843
Email: pohlmann@rhodes.edu