Speaker 1: Class Action is a production of I Heart Radio and
Speaker 1: Sound Argument. Today is indeed a wonderful day as we
Speaker 1: gather to celebrate the confirmation of the next Justice of
Speaker 1: the United States Supreme Court, Judge Katangi Brown Jackson. And
Speaker 1: Judge Jackson, you will inspire generations of leaders. They will
Speaker 1: watch your confirmation hearings and read your decisions. The young
Speaker 1: leaders of our nation will learn from the experienced the judgment.
Speaker 1: The wisdom that you, Judge Jackson, will apply in every
Speaker 1: case that comes before you, and they will see for
Speaker 1: the first time for women sitting on that court at
Speaker 1: one time. Hy y'all, I'm Servey. I'm from Georgia Tech.
Speaker 1: We're over there. Go jackets. Hi everyone, I'm Travis Harper.
Speaker 1: This is Stella Asmerom Harper Mock Trial, and we're so
Speaker 1: excited for this weekend. Good luck, guys. Hey everyone, my
Speaker 1: name is Angela Armistead. My name is Jalen Trent and
Speaker 1: where the captains at Howard University. Mock trial. H you Hi, guys.
Speaker 1: My name is Sophia Pittman Jones and I'm Davia Kumar
Speaker 1: and we're representing the University of Cincinnati with our first
Speaker 1: ever all female tea. Hello, I'm Renee than me In
Speaker 1: and my name is Amya Ronsick. I'm the captain of
Speaker 1: the Dillard University mock Tril team in New Orleans. And
Speaker 1: as we stay in New Orleans, le bonkulate, let the
Speaker 1: good times roll. Oh you you're ruther? Wait? What's all right?
Speaker 1: I'll problem Hello, you're the right from. Everybody's fine? Everybody,
Speaker 1: pop you're look you're les poleg cop the left leg.
Speaker 1: If everybody looks like pop, all okay, look cutey. Where
Speaker 1: are we looking? And there's there is Howard mock Tyle
Speaker 1: right there, Howard Morilee's told right there, look beautiful and special,
Speaker 1: all melonated and gorgeous. Just look at beautiful black people
Speaker 1: for everybody that's black. So Howard is an HBC that
Speaker 1: typically comes to the national settings, so this isn't their
Speaker 1: first rodeo. However, it is ours. We are the first
Speaker 1: black team from the South to come to Nationals. We're
Speaker 1: also the first black team or team in general from
Speaker 1: the state Louisiana coming to national So there are a
Speaker 1: lot of things that are riding on the back of
Speaker 1: my teammates and I I'm going into this and we
Speaker 1: couldn't be more honored. Good afternoon. How special is it
Speaker 1: to all be together again on behalf of the planning
Speaker 1: committee on the Town College and Lancster County And it's
Speaker 1: five D seventy five thousand residents welcome. My name is
Speaker 1: Grant Kema. I'm the chair of the Plant Tournament Planning Committee.
Speaker 1: As I look around, I think, you know, like growing up,
Speaker 1: I always wanted to be a baseball announcer. This isn't
Speaker 1: exactly how I thought it was. I've been involved with
Speaker 1: collegiate mock trial since about two thousand seven and I
Speaker 1: served as the chair of the National Championship Tournament planning Committee.
Speaker 1: Today is the opening ceremony for the tournament. The Lancster
Speaker 1: County Courthouse will be hosting sixteen trials proground. We're going
Speaker 1: to have six at the Holiday Inn and two at
Speaker 1: the Lankster Bar Association and we will so for each
Speaker 1: trial they will draw two teams. The first team drawing
Speaker 1: will be the prosecution team. The second team drawing will
Speaker 1: be the defense team. We asked the teams refrain from
Speaker 1: pre trial cheers and chants in the courthouse. We know
Speaker 1: it's an important tradition for some of you. We respect
Speaker 1: that the sure if you're not like it, the bailiffs
Speaker 1: do not like it, and frankly, I've heard from some
Speaker 1: of our judges that they don't enjoy it. So please
Speaker 1: have your pre trial moment with your team quietly and
Speaker 1: refrained from any loud expressions of pre trial hump up nous.
Speaker 1: Welcome to nationals. Okay, I'm gonna do it again, he said.
Speaker 1: We can't chant in the court house, so we gotta
Speaker 1: get the noise out now. Welcome to the in person
Speaker 1: National Championship. That was a little bit. This has been
Speaker 1: a long time coming. It's been a long year for
Speaker 1: the previously unranked team from Dillard University. They've put an
Speaker 1: hunter it's of hours of practice, and traveled thousands of
Speaker 1: miles on the road. Today they find themselves surrounded by
Speaker 1: the best and the brightest. They've reached the promised Land.
Speaker 1: This is episode twelve. The Richard M. Howkins Award listended
Speaker 1: annually to the championship team of the Intercollegiate Mock Trial
Speaker 1: National Championship. If our students get the idea that the
Speaker 1: only thing that matters is winning, they are losing of
Speaker 1: what being a lawyer and participating in the judicial system is.
Speaker 1: Lawyers are officers of all court and there an all
Speaker 1: time Richard M. Howkins, Reday's America and mol Associations. I'd
Speaker 1: like to think I will be a voice actor at
Speaker 1: some point in my life. So you know this was
Speaker 1: my audition. Yeah, wow, do you think I'll get it?
Speaker 1: We're going to start with the draw from the Doss Division.
Speaker 1: Nothing fund would us in courtroom A representing the state,
Speaker 1: the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech Team one thousand one
Speaker 1: facing the Blue Devils of Dillard University Team twelve sixteen.
Speaker 1: Where are we at in Portland too? Imagine an n
Speaker 1: C Double A basketball tournament and all of the teams
Speaker 1: are in one hotel. You can feel the nervous energy
Speaker 1: as teams pile into elevators dressed in pajamas and workout
Speaker 1: care Some are already uncomfortable in their courtroom suits. The
Speaker 1: young would be lawyers take over every free space inside
Speaker 1: the hotel, driving the staff crazy. We're from Ohio State.
Speaker 1: It's my senior year, so it's my last time. We're
Speaker 1: from Emory University and the Amory Eagles is the school mascot.
Speaker 1: Very chaotic at all times, but in the fast possible way,
Speaker 1: So we're really high energy. It's been a good year.
Speaker 1: I'm really excited. Yeah, we're happy to be back in
Speaker 1: nahalk in person. Yeah we're from Yale. Yeah, um, New
Speaker 1: Haven naked. Yeah. It's felt very very long. Um, but
Speaker 1: it's crazy because this case we've had three weeks with it,
Speaker 1: so it's been a long time. But um, still not
Speaker 1: feeling as prepared as I wish I felt. It's fun
Speaker 1: and nerve wracking. Um, but I think this case is
Speaker 1: really juicy, So I'm happy to be doing it. You know,
Speaker 1: I got sick of that Arson case after months and
Speaker 1: months of doing Yeah. Yeah, we're from Harvard, so it's
Speaker 1: been fun seeing what other teams have come up with
Speaker 1: and you know, changing our material based on what we see.
Speaker 1: But to amp myself up, listen to Ratchett music, listen
Speaker 1: to gang banger music, and that's what helps me get
Speaker 1: hyped up. It depends because I might listen to some
Speaker 1: old stuff like some ice Cube, or I might listen
Speaker 1: to some stuff that only people from Miami is gonna know.
Speaker 1: So Piccolo, if you're you're listening to this, I listen
Speaker 1: to your music. Yes, gotta have the right of stuff.
Speaker 1: Yesterday I was getting off the elevator to come talk
Speaker 1: to Ms Kimbro and I'm on a mission. I don't
Speaker 1: have a lot, I don't have a lot of time,
Speaker 1: like you need to go. And I get out the
Speaker 1: elevator and it's a bunch of mock trial kids and
Speaker 1: I'm like, hey, how y'all doing? And I hear them
Speaker 1: that's him, that's him, that's him. And they say, are
Speaker 1: you hey? What's cool? Are y'all y'all dealer? And we're
Speaker 1: like yeah, and they're like, oh my god, y'all are
Speaker 1: the ones who turned the lights off and have the
Speaker 1: hood on? And you know, I'm just like, oh, I'm famous.
Speaker 1: I'm good, good, very excited, very grateful, you know, just
Speaker 1: kind of taking it all in. It's very exciting. You know,
Speaker 1: there's some degree of a Cinderella story still to it.
Speaker 1: I'm not offended by that. I know that there are
Speaker 1: some who are. Um, that doesn't offend me. I think
Speaker 1: the difference though, is, of course, we know the story
Speaker 1: of Cinderella there was a fairy godmother that comes and
Speaker 1: creates all of this magic, and in this case, there
Speaker 1: was no fairy godmother. Unless maybe it's me. I don't know.
Speaker 1: But I would know seriously though, I mean, there was
Speaker 1: no fairy god mother. They did the work. This is
Speaker 1: something that we always talked about, Like even my freshman year,
Speaker 1: I remember crying that I didn't make it past regionals.
Speaker 1: Like every year, freshman year, sophomore year, junior, we didn't
Speaker 1: make it past. And I just think right now and
Speaker 1: all of everything that we've been through was just to
Speaker 1: condition us to get to this point. And I think
Speaker 1: we wouldn't have been ready and we wouldn't have done
Speaker 1: this great if it wasn't this exact group of people,
Speaker 1: this exact um set of circumstances. So I'm just happy
Speaker 1: that it was right now and not when I when
Speaker 1: I asked for it. So I feel like you never
Speaker 1: really know what's coming. You can only prepare for what
Speaker 1: you believe is coming. So you just got to keep
Speaker 1: that game face on and you know, just do the
Speaker 1: job that you were tasked with, which is to participate
Speaker 1: in this trial in whatever capacity you were granted. Just
Speaker 1: a little scene setting here. We're in the old courthouse,
Speaker 1: in a cavernous court room that feels abandoned. There are
Speaker 1: twenty five foot ceilings and fabricated pillars with elaborate cornices.
Speaker 1: The court itself sits on an elevated platform in front
Speaker 1: of a semi circular chamber, and the three judges sit
Speaker 1: behind a massive wooden bench with antique lamps in the
Speaker 1: shape of the scales of justice. On the walls are
Speaker 1: dusty portraits of Lancaster Counties, long forgotten barristers, all white
Speaker 1: men in black robes, staring down in judgment your honor.
Speaker 1: Opposing council members of the jury may have pleased the court.
Speaker 1: Every scheme needs escape gam On August nine, two twenty one,
Speaker 1: officer Jay Murta was handcuffed and arrested in front of
Speaker 1: all of their colleagues at the Midlands Center Police Department.
Speaker 1: After they were cuffed, they were put in the back
Speaker 1: of a squad car and taking to Central Booking, charged
Speaker 1: with fraud. Well, every scheme needs escape them, and you
Speaker 1: will learn that is with Jay Murtas trying to make
Speaker 1: out of Gene Rigs. I know what you're thinking, Murta
Speaker 1: and Riggs. Where have I heard those names before? I'm
Speaker 1: channeling Los Angeles. Mel Gibson over acting in a mullet.
Speaker 1: Danny Glover has a sleazy looking mustache. O M g
Speaker 1: it's lethal weapon, and in this case it's the cops
Speaker 1: who are the bad guys that don't stand a chance.
Speaker 1: The prosecution will want you to believe the word of
Speaker 1: a crooked cop. I'm gonna want you to believe that
Speaker 1: Jean Riggs was part of some scheme to take state
Speaker 1: property and evezzel funds. But the evidence will show that
Speaker 1: nothing of the sword is true. The evidence will show
Speaker 1: that Jay Merton and the span of this whole investigation
Speaker 1: was thinking of one person and it wasn't protecting the
Speaker 1: people of Midlands. Now, because the majority of the seniors
Speaker 1: have been on here since we got to this to Dillard,
Speaker 1: I really think you just have to rest on the
Speaker 1: fact that you know what you're doing. Like I'm not
Speaker 1: new to this. I'm true to this man, I've been
Speaker 1: doing this for four years. At this point, a confident
Speaker 1: attitude is critical at this level. But at times in
Speaker 1: this trial, the Dealer team is a little too persistent.
Speaker 1: They're pressing and as a result, they're tripping over their words. Yes,
Speaker 1: and when Officer Reef pulled you over, you learned that
Speaker 1: what you were shipping was a peck on brick. Excuse
Speaker 1: me of cocaine. Isn't that right? Yes, your honor, this
Speaker 1: is the witnesses then exist. Im sorry, yes it does.
Speaker 1: We are here today because the prosecution is charging the
Speaker 1: defendant will falsilicate, falsification and embezzlement of state property. Drugs
Speaker 1: are considered state drugs. Sees by the Midland Center Police
Speaker 1: Department are state property. The purity of the drugs of
Speaker 1: Bartholomew's I mean, excuse me, the purity of the drugs
Speaker 1: are Murti as well as Riggs. We're actually less than
Speaker 1: the regional average. So it's your testimony today that you
Speaker 1: didn't look back at Jane riggs numbers after talking to
Speaker 1: Peyton Travis about Jay Murta giving Gene Riggs up as
Speaker 1: an accomplice. In the past, Lagen has been criticized for
Speaker 1: being too aggressive in her cross examinations. She's kept it
Speaker 1: in check all season, but today she goes after the
Speaker 1: witness but getting still, those are the only ones you
Speaker 1: flagged before you talked to Peyton Travis. Isn't that right? Now?
Speaker 1: You have no evidence to show that Jane Riggs took
Speaker 1: any of those drugs out of that lab, Isn't that correct? Thank?
Speaker 1: You have no further questions. I think we've had to
Speaker 1: learn to take certain comments from certain judges with a
Speaker 1: grain of salt. Mantra is very subjective sport, it very
Speaker 1: much is. And you want to improve and you want to, like,
Speaker 1: you know, take in what they have to say. Um,
Speaker 1: but you you kind of have to decide where you
Speaker 1: want to put merit on certain things, like, um, if
Speaker 1: a judge tells me, like we've had judges say like
Speaker 1: we came off aggressive, it's it's kind of like it's
Speaker 1: not about you at that point. It's about whatever they
Speaker 1: feel and they're letting whatever like implicit things that's going on,
Speaker 1: like we're unconscious things go on dictate this situation. So
Speaker 1: you kind of have to kind of take yourself out
Speaker 1: of it sometimes and just remember, like, this is something
Speaker 1: that person is dealing with, whether consciously or unconsciously, and
Speaker 1: this is how it's being presented, and you just happen
Speaker 1: to be seeing the effects of it, and you may
Speaker 1: step down. Let's take a five minute break. Please make
Speaker 1: it quick, Please make it quick. I need to go
Speaker 1: with thank you. During the break, the team scurries into
Speaker 1: the hallway outside of the courtroom. They're clearly rattled by
Speaker 1: their own performance and perhaps a bit intimidated by the
Speaker 1: team from Georgia Tech. I just mentioned to juris is
Speaker 1: sort of funny. Um, the very first year we started
Speaker 1: the team and we went to regionals, the last round
Speaker 1: was Georgia Tech. UM, and so of course we our
Speaker 1: first round here is Georgia Tech. So I know they're
Speaker 1: a great team. I mean I can say that. I
Speaker 1: mean they're always they're always very good. They're always um competitive.
Speaker 1: You know, they come to nationals regularly, UM, long standing program,
Speaker 1: very h experienced. Now they brought to you this chart,
Speaker 1: this quote unquote plan. But as you heard, none of
Speaker 1: this actually transpired over trial. The Dealer team has overcome
Speaker 1: hurricanes and bomb threats to get here. They've beaten top
Speaker 1: ranked teams in front of all white judges. This is
Speaker 1: something that they needed to control, something that they needed
Speaker 1: to show you. But it's obvious that this round is
Speaker 1: slipping away. Even a hail Mary closing from DeAndre Bell
Speaker 1: may not be enough to win the round. Members of
Speaker 1: the jury waits for the smoke to clear because every
Speaker 1: scheme needs escapegoat, and in this case, because Officer Mertzall
Speaker 1: went down, she decided somebody else had to go down
Speaker 1: with her, so just some like more general feedback. I
Speaker 1: thought openings are really good, but they tended a little
Speaker 1: bit too far on the argumentative side at times. I
Speaker 1: think you need the relax a little bit, be yourself,
Speaker 1: you know, don't come in here into a courtroom and
Speaker 1: try to be somebody other than who you are. You're
Speaker 1: just a little bit too rigid. And I don't think
Speaker 1: that you're that way because if I see you walking
Speaker 1: around and talking and so, don't try and be somebody
Speaker 1: that you're not. Um mich Shelton was a little bit
Speaker 1: rigid as well in the beginning, and then she kind
Speaker 1: of relaxed a little bit and became a little more
Speaker 1: of herself. When you're doing a trial, they always say
Speaker 1: this is a fun experience. Being in a trial is
Speaker 1: like downhill skiing, going just as fast but not so fast.
Speaker 1: You lose control, but you almost do, and sometimes you do.
Speaker 1: But when that happens, you're going to automatic pilot and
Speaker 1: you save it. That's what it's like. My morale kind
Speaker 1: of started to go down. I started stubbling under my words,
Speaker 1: and I didn't really have the response that I wanted
Speaker 1: to have, and It's like I knew what to say,
Speaker 1: but it just didn't come out, and so I was
Speaker 1: getting irritated by that. I had a massive headache. I
Speaker 1: stayed for the comments, listen to the comments. Everybody was
Speaker 1: excited to talk about the close and things like that,
Speaker 1: but I was just like, y'all, uh, I'm listening. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna stay here, but as soon as we're done, I
Speaker 1: gotta go. Man. Literally, when I made it to my room,
Speaker 1: I took off all my clothes and just popped in bed.
Speaker 1: I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I knew the
Speaker 1: person I nominated when we put through a painful and
Speaker 1: difficult confirmation process. But I have to tell you what
Speaker 1: Judge Jackson has put through was well beyond that. It
Speaker 1: was verbal abuse, the anger. In the face of it all,
Speaker 1: George Jackson showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses. I'm, folks,
Speaker 1: it's my honor and truly is an honor to introduce
Speaker 1: you the next Associate Justice in the United States Supreme Court,
Speaker 1: the Honorable Katangi Brown Jackson. And I'm gonna just tell
Speaker 1: you my own personal pack of dealo. You don't always
Speaker 1: wanted to do with the possibilities. Okay, anybody have any questions.
Speaker 1: As a practitioner and as a judge, really, I like
Speaker 1: the fact that I can make a difference in somebody's life. Yeah. No,
Speaker 1: I take a very very serious view of the legal profession.
Speaker 1: And when you think about things that have changed in
Speaker 1: this country that have changed the lives of Americans, they
Speaker 1: usually start in the mind of a lawyer, whether drafting
Speaker 1: a law, putting forward a bill, filing the case, it
Speaker 1: usually arts in the mind of a lawyer. And that's
Speaker 1: a very substantial responsibility. And also lawyers can make a
Speaker 1: very very good income and they have a good lifestyle.
Speaker 1: But with wealth comes responsibility. If you hit wealthy enough off,
Speaker 1: you're lucky enough to achieve it. So I try to
Speaker 1: teach on that side of it too, that you're a professional.
Speaker 1: You have to be a professional. You have to give
Speaker 1: me your best because sometimes the only thing that stands
Speaker 1: between them and loss of freedom, here's a lawyer. And
Speaker 1: that's a very substantial responsibility. Uh do anybody with your health?
Speaker 1: Very so? Okay, Okay, I just want lunch. K where
Speaker 1: are we in all? Take grab a seat lunch before
Speaker 1: our next frond starts. The whole idea. Here is the
Speaker 1: fact they raised in Mercalm, Capital Criminal Interprise. I'll bash
Speaker 1: the tournament. Thus far, we face Boston University and Emery.
Speaker 1: It went pretty well. I think our team was very
Speaker 1: competitive and we did a very good job against really
Speaker 1: good It's been nice to see that we can compete
Speaker 1: with the higher levels because we're a smaller school about
Speaker 1: eleven hundred students, and we're up at schools with forty
Speaker 1: fifty students each and we're still able to compete when
Speaker 1: Thaie do things about swork. We're from American University UM,
Speaker 1: and we just finished our second round of the day. UM.
Speaker 1: Everyone feels really good. It's it's been a wonderful experience.
Speaker 1: Everyone's learning a lot and getting to see some really
Speaker 1: good monk. We have a world top say has played
Speaker 1: so far. You see Santa Barbara and you see Irvine.
Speaker 1: So it's nice because we got some lay schools from
Speaker 1: very far away, which is always good at the national
Speaker 1: championship because you know, you spend most of the year
Speaker 1: going against like the same schools in your area. Oh,
Speaker 1: it's great. We have so many friends from across the
Speaker 1: country that without this activity, we would have never met
Speaker 1: We've got friends from tough sout in Massachusetts, from U C.
Speaker 1: L A out in California, and you know, everywhere in
Speaker 1: between UM. And it's really fun that we get to
Speaker 1: come together once again and really just see each other
Speaker 1: because when this activity was online, obviously we couldn't really
Speaker 1: talk to each other. We didn't get to see each other,
Speaker 1: we didn't get to have those times in between rounds
Speaker 1: and the hotel um where you know, we really get
Speaker 1: to talk about, like, you know, where do you want
Speaker 1: to go to law school? What do you want to
Speaker 1: do with your life? And it's really interesting to see
Speaker 1: how like these people can these connections that you're making
Speaker 1: a mock trial can really influence your life, your trajectory,
Speaker 1: your path, your passions. Hey, we're from Duke University. It's
Speaker 1: kind of tough being the most charming team and antha,
Speaker 1: but we take on that burden happily and we're doing
Speaker 1: it really well. Round threection again. Yeah, we just got
Speaker 1: prosecution and we got Hamilton's College, Uh court room six,
Speaker 1: one of the third flour Can Dance version and whisper
Speaker 1: if that was my thing. It's a new thing, this problem.
Speaker 1: Ye Come on, y'all, come on, this tea, this team,
Speaker 1: this team, team, this team, this team, best team best,
Speaker 1: this team, this tea strong, team strong, this team, this team, strong,
Speaker 1: team strong, this team, this team, this team, this team.
Speaker 1: I love my team. Love I love my team. I
Speaker 1: love my team. I love my team. Someone's getting your
Speaker 1: looks like, are coming? So yeah, come on, you're just coming. Cool.
Speaker 1: I used to struggle with imposter syndrome a lot my
Speaker 1: freshman year, and I went to this UM summer program
Speaker 1: where I basically learned that if I'm there, I'm there
Speaker 1: for a reason, and obviously I'm qualified. And you know,
Speaker 1: there's a quote that says, um, God doesn't call the qualified,
Speaker 1: but he qualifies the call basically, and so even if
Speaker 1: you know there are places that I was slipping up
Speaker 1: on which I was slipping up at National's, I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna lie, but I felt like it was a learning um,
Speaker 1: just just a learning moment for me. So it wasn't
Speaker 1: that I felt like I was out of place, because
Speaker 1: I felt like a lot of the rounds were evenly matched.
Speaker 1: It's just that I wasn't used to doing it back
Speaker 1: to back to back, because at this point we're pulling
Speaker 1: out all the stops. But for every round, so we're
Speaker 1: getting tired, and it's just about like keeping up your stamina.
Speaker 1: So there were some moments where I didn't I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be honest with you, I didn't feel like we were
Speaker 1: jelling because we all want the best possible outcome each
Speaker 1: and every time. So I would see DeAndre and the
Speaker 1: corner panicking, and I would see Taylor in the corner
Speaker 1: scribbling down something on her notes. I'm trying to get
Speaker 1: something else in orders. Those moments right there, we're having
Speaker 1: me nervous, like, oh my gosh, are we gonna make
Speaker 1: it out of this round? Dillard and Hamilton's are evenly
Speaker 1: matched when it comes to their litigation skills. This trial
Speaker 1: comes down to the credibility of the witnesses. Good Afternoon,
Speaker 1: has Sweetie. It's all about acting skills and make believe accents.
Speaker 1: You blame Officer Race for having to serve that prison sentence.
Speaker 1: I do. I think Officer Rigs should have to tell
Speaker 1: the truth today and get justice you usually want on
Speaker 1: Officer Rex, I do. I feel like Officer Riggs should
Speaker 1: have to go through everything that she deserves, especially for
Speaker 1: making me do something I didn't want to do. I
Speaker 1: feel like this character was more of me because I'm
Speaker 1: a southern, very very country. She's a very fun witness to.
Speaker 1: So my first dream was to be on Broadway. And
Speaker 1: then I discovered law. The Hamilton's witness goes for the
Speaker 1: classic bad guy accent from every spy movie you've ever seen, right,
Speaker 1: And you never saw the defendant pick out anyone of
Speaker 1: your club, did you? But you did see more overt
Speaker 1: sellings of drugs once the defendant started working there isn't
Speaker 1: that right? Yes exactly. It was very confused and beingle
Speaker 1: of these money, but then have spilled drugs? Sense? I
Speaker 1: would just like to ask, just for my example of this. Uh,
Speaker 1: the third defense witness was, was that a character you
Speaker 1: were playing? Or yes? Okay, okay, okay, I just want
Speaker 1: to you know, it's always characters are very high risk,
Speaker 1: high reward, so you know, you can get someone that
Speaker 1: really enjoys it, or you can get someone who you
Speaker 1: know may find it offensive. So just be careful with that.
Speaker 1: I do want to echo what Harry said. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, when we do accents, when we do characters,
Speaker 1: just just be cognizant of that. I usually don't like,
Speaker 1: you know, zany accents unless they have a reason for
Speaker 1: the story, because it's just like you're just hacking this on.
Speaker 1: All right, let's get a couple of minutes here to
Speaker 1: rout all this stuff. From what I understand, we give
Speaker 1: the blue sheets to the runners as those the timekeepers,
Speaker 1: and then we do comments and then we're free to
Speaker 1: prop up for the next round. I'm glad that it
Speaker 1: was prosecution for the third round, since the second round
Speaker 1: was prosecution, and I think that it gave us the
Speaker 1: opportunity to clean some things up. I think that our
Speaker 1: performance was a lot sharper, so I'm pretty satisfied. Um,
Speaker 1: I don't really mind what the ballots look like. I
Speaker 1: came here to have fun and I think that I
Speaker 1: did that, So you know, you gotta take it all
Speaker 1: with a grand of salt. We're not worried about who's
Speaker 1: going to win the tournament. We're in the moment right now,
Speaker 1: and um, you're not trusting that the process is gonna
Speaker 1: take care of itself. What's going through your head? Now?
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, is it our last case? What is
Speaker 1: your last case? As the underground from UC trial? Is it?
Speaker 1: Are we going to the championship round? Okay, that's true. Okay, um,
Speaker 1: let's get let's pray. Let's pray. All I believe, does
Speaker 1: anything know? When the round starts like before, everybody, take
Speaker 1: a deep breath. You're relaxed. My nerves bad too. I
Speaker 1: promise it's all good, though. It's all good. My Father God.
Speaker 1: We thank you. We thank you for getting us through
Speaker 1: the first three rounds. Father Guy, we thank you for
Speaker 1: bringing us to this very moment. Father God, we thank
Speaker 1: you for giving us a case that was meant for
Speaker 1: the dealing mock trial team. Father God, Father God. I've
Speaker 1: declared victory every time I've talked to you this past weekend,
Speaker 1: Father God, for I know just as much as everyone
Speaker 1: else in this group, Father God, that we will be
Speaker 1: in the National Championship round. Father God, Father God. In
Speaker 1: we saw the promised land. Now, Father got in two,
Speaker 1: we've made it to the promised land. Father God. Now
Speaker 1: that we've crossed the river Jordan, I asked that you
Speaker 1: let us knocked down the walls of Jericho. Father Father God,
Speaker 1: you've been with us COVID. You've been with us through hurricanes,
Speaker 1: You've been with us through death, Father God. We've been
Speaker 1: with us every year since this team's inception. So we
Speaker 1: stand in this space on the shoulders of our ancest
Speaker 1: the third Good Marsha. We're stand on the shoulders of
Speaker 1: our ancestor, Charles Hamilton Houston. We stand on the shoulders
Speaker 1: of justice Katangi Brown Jackson. Father God, we thank you,
Speaker 1: Thank you God for putting us as black people in
Speaker 1: this space and showing everyone here that we are not
Speaker 1: something to be messed with. Father God, thank you. No
Speaker 1: direct form against the shop prospering your older No, no,
Speaker 1: no cross show formed against the shop prosper, no opening
Speaker 1: form against the shop prospering. No closing form against the
Speaker 1: showy prosper. And so we ask that you you stretch
Speaker 1: your hand over us, put a hedge and protection around us.
Speaker 1: Father got sent down your angels to speak through us.
Speaker 1: Father Gods. Prosecution ready proceed? Yes, okay the sense Are
Speaker 1: you ready proceed? Yes? I really have received so much
Speaker 1: from being in community with these students or being able
Speaker 1: to sort of walk along with them on this part
Speaker 1: of their journey, Your honor, Mr Solomon, Members of the jury,
Speaker 1: may it please the court. Every scheme needs a scapegoat.
Speaker 1: On August nine, Officer Jay Murtall was handcuffed in front
Speaker 1: of all of their constituents at the Midlands Center Police Department.
Speaker 1: I would say the majority of them are motivated by
Speaker 1: the prospect of being able to make change in their communities.
Speaker 1: You know what I man proceeded with cross ms Mr Thomas.
Speaker 1: There are students that dealer who want to go to
Speaker 1: law school because they want to have lucrative careers, but
Speaker 1: those end up not being the ones who joined the
Speaker 1: mood trial team. Many of our students who have had
Speaker 1: experience with the judicial system, the legal system, most of
Speaker 1: that has been negative. You mentioned a time where the
Speaker 1: defendant gave you some money, correct, but you never asked
Speaker 1: the defendant where he got that money from. I guess
Speaker 1: not no, But you never actually saw Mr Riggs sell
Speaker 1: those drugs, did you. That's correct, man, But I think
Speaker 1: that's the reason they show up. That's the reason that
Speaker 1: they want to go into the profession. That's why they
Speaker 1: want to be on the team. They want to develop
Speaker 1: the skills to be able to say no, I want
Speaker 1: to be a part of this change. Objection your honors
Speaker 1: and proper character explain yes, your honor. They're using this
Speaker 1: pro propensity sake to use an instance from to suggest
Speaker 1: that Mr Riggs is now guilty. Ino is most definitely
Speaker 1: being used for the character of Mr. Riggs Council. I
Speaker 1: agree with the defense if you can lay the foundation
Speaker 1: that this previous complaint instance was part of the conspiracy
Speaker 1: you're alleging. You're firmly in barnacle. This comes in. But
Speaker 1: until you lay that foundation, this is exclusible. Granted, I
Speaker 1: don't care who it is, like, you have the ability
Speaker 1: to compete against anyone, and I think that that is invaluable,
Speaker 1: like that lesson, and I see it manifest itself for
Speaker 1: those who go on from the team and who go
Speaker 1: on to law school, when oftentimes people of color can
Speaker 1: feel like impostors in law school classrooms and like they
Speaker 1: don't have the ability to be success. But it's like no,
Speaker 1: no, no no, because you've already had experience showing up with
Speaker 1: people who have far more resources and more privileged and
Speaker 1: you win. That brings us to my next point. You
Speaker 1: actually confronted off similar talk about this, right correct. You
Speaker 1: lie to Officer Murtalk, correct, And in doing so, Officer
Speaker 1: Murtalk confessed all that she's done to you, right correct.
Speaker 1: We fronted with some evidence that you know, we're in
Speaker 1: a really interesting time in the history of our country
Speaker 1: that I think this sort of window has opened up
Speaker 1: for some of this progress to happen. I'm under no
Speaker 1: delusion that that is just like a foregone conclusion, like
Speaker 1: that it will always be this way. And so I think,
Speaker 1: you know, in every space we find ourselves, we have to,
Speaker 1: you know, while the wind is at our back, we
Speaker 1: have to continue to push and to try to make
Speaker 1: as much progress as we can, because we just don't
Speaker 1: know how long that window is going to be open.
Speaker 1: Thank you all very much, Thank you. I have dedicated
Speaker 1: my career to public service because I love this country
Speaker 1: and our constitution and the rights that make us free.
Speaker 1: I am standing on the shoulders of my own role models,
Speaker 1: generations of Americans who never had anything close to this
Speaker 1: kind of opportunity, but who got up every day and
Speaker 1: went to work, believing in the promise of America, showing
Speaker 1: others through their determination and yes, their perseverance, that good,
Speaker 1: good things can be done in this great country. From
Speaker 1: my grandparents on both sides, who had only a grade
Speaker 1: school education but instilled in my parents the importance of learning.
Speaker 1: To my parents who went to racially segregated schools growing
Speaker 1: up and We're the first in their families to have
Speaker 1: the chance to go to college. It has taken two
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty two years and one hundred and fifteen
Speaker 1: prior appointments for a black woman to be selected to
Speaker 1: serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. But
Speaker 1: we've made it. We've made it, all of us, all
Speaker 1: of us, m your honor, the Morris. Members of the jury,
Speaker 1: Just imagine the embarrassment of submerts her face as she
Speaker 1: was handcuffed in front of her colleagues. Just imagine the
Speaker 1: embarrassment Officer merts her face as she was walked down
Speaker 1: into a squad car. Imagine Officer Murta sitting in a
Speaker 1: jail cell. Members of the jury, this isn't a joke,
Speaker 1: This isn't a laughing matter. This is something serious, and
Speaker 1: they are trying to accuse my client of embezzlement and falsification.
Speaker 1: No witness came before you today and could tell you
Speaker 1: that my client stole anything from the police department. One
Speaker 1: of the things the prosecution promised to you was that
Speaker 1: the only name you would hear throughout the entirety of
Speaker 1: this trial was Officer Jene Rigs. But it would serve
Speaker 1: as no surprise to you nor myself that the name
Speaker 1: Officer Jay Murta showed up not once, not twice, but
Speaker 1: fifty nine times. Why because every scheme needs a scapegoat.
Speaker 1: In today's case, the state tried to make a scapegoat
Speaker 1: out of Gene Riggs. This web of conspiracies that has
Speaker 1: been stunned by the opposing council cannot stand because every
Speaker 1: scheme needs a scapegoat. And as the defense, we ask
Speaker 1: that you please don't let them make a scapegoat out
Speaker 1: of Gene Riggs. Find him not guilty. This has been
Speaker 1: a great weekend. It's been a lot of fun. I'm
Speaker 1: so glad that we were able to do this and
Speaker 1: be back together in person. Okay, so this year we
Speaker 1: gave you arson and then we gave you guns and
Speaker 1: money and drugs. All right, everybody, we're gonna get out
Speaker 1: some awards. So when I announced your name, stand up,
Speaker 1: you recognized, what's your recognized Start coming, But we're not
Speaker 1: waiting for you to get down for the next one.
Speaker 1: We're gonna have a parade. Took twenty four ranks in
Speaker 1: the DOS division. We're starting with Team fifteen sixty two.
Speaker 1: The gauchos of UCSB. Madeline Whalen with seven ranks on
Speaker 1: the defense from Team seven Howard University Jalen trap four
Speaker 1: ranks on the defense of Texas MA Davie Summer, going
Speaker 1: to twenty five ranks on the state side, going to
Speaker 1: some b l e U Blue Devil's Team twelve sixteen
Speaker 1: Dillard's Lejon Shelson. It would be nice to be in
Speaker 1: New Orleans right now. All right, Indy DAWs Division. It
Speaker 1: took twenty two rieks to be named and all American witnesses,
Speaker 1: So we are going to start with an all American
Speaker 1: yellow jacket from Georgia Tech. Jordan's Spencer, our next American
Speaker 1: witness on the defense side of the case. Let me
Speaker 1: see if I'm doing this right, d you Rendy City, Yes,
Speaker 1: America inter Collegiate All American Yes now announced our Spirit
Speaker 1: of Anthon winners. Hello everyone, my name is Missy Watt.
Speaker 1: The main reason that I find this award so significant
Speaker 1: one is that you all are the ones who vote
Speaker 1: on it, and as you go on into the real
Speaker 1: world and practice real law, remember that the way you
Speaker 1: treat other people is important, and that the way you
Speaker 1: you treat them is something that they will remember. If
Speaker 1: you practice law, I can promise you that the attorneys
Speaker 1: I remember are either the ones who were dishonest who
Speaker 1: I couldn't trust, and I also remember the ones who
Speaker 1: were the kindest and we're the easiest to work with.
Speaker 1: With that um, I'm very excited to announce with Ranks,
Speaker 1: I was their first an tow up. I have to
Speaker 1: give them this award, So please join me in congratulating
Speaker 1: Team twelve sixteen Lars University. That's what you don't ye
Speaker 1: two into Collegiate Mock Trial National Championship All American Witness.
Speaker 1: We just got something Ms Kimbers who wanted up to
Speaker 1: get for a really long time. We're just a spirit
Speaker 1: of am because she says we're not nice people, but
Speaker 1: even pro wrong, we're nice people who got SPRETA. That's
Speaker 1: pretty that's really awesome. We got some individual awards too.
Speaker 1: I got an All American Attorney Award and I am
Speaker 1: officially an All American Witness. I think that like I
Speaker 1: couldn't have asked our team to go into that round
Speaker 1: for these last four rounds and do anything differently. I
Speaker 1: am extremely proud and blessed to say I'm a part
Speaker 1: of the team and in my senior year, I find
Speaker 1: really got my flowers and it feels good. Um and
Speaker 1: their recognition and just you know, even being here with
Speaker 1: another hbc U, it's it's I'm overjoyed. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: you come, you come to Nationals with the intent of
Speaker 1: crushing everybody and doing all that. But I think, you know,
Speaker 1: dial It, we realized we're not We're not really here
Speaker 1: for that. We're here to show people who we are
Speaker 1: and what we're made of. And we made it. We
Speaker 1: made it all the way to Nationals and we we
Speaker 1: are nationally ranked again and we have all American witnesses
Speaker 1: and attorneys on this team. So it's an amazing experience. Wow,
Speaker 1: we didn't individually know every single one of those African
Speaker 1: American students who got recognized as part of some team
Speaker 1: or as an All American attorney. All American women's are best.
Speaker 1: Believe we stood up when they when they got announced,
Speaker 1: because they need to know that we got their back
Speaker 1: and they are loved by this community, whether you are
Speaker 1: directly from dial It or not. At the end of
Speaker 1: the day, when when one of us, when we all
Speaker 1: in so it feels good, it feels good. There were
Speaker 1: five teams at seven wins. In tenth place with seven
Speaker 1: wins and a CS of twenty one and a half,
Speaker 1: Team eleven Washington University in St. Louis. We have a
Speaker 1: three way tie for third, fourth, and fifth place in
Speaker 1: the DOS Division at a record of eight wins. The
Speaker 1: fifth place team with eight wins and a CS of
Speaker 1: twenty one Team ten forty nine the Blue Devils of
Speaker 1: Duke in third place in the DOS Division with eight
Speaker 1: wins and a combined strength of the Bulldogs of Yale,
Speaker 1: the champion of the DOS Division with eleven wins, one loss,
Speaker 1: a combined strength of eight from Hyde Park, the South
Speaker 1: Side of Chicago, the b Roads of the University. I'm Chicago,
Speaker 1: the champion of the Stressman Division with eleven wins and
Speaker 1: to see us at thirty and a half the Crimson
Speaker 1: of Harvard. Despite their best efforts, Dillard finishes near the
Speaker 1: bottom of the standings at the competition. A disappointment for
Speaker 1: sure for coach Adria Kimbro This is her last tournament
Speaker 1: for Dillard. It feels great, it's great. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know any other words to say. I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: very proud, but coach kimbro delivered. She brought her unranked
Speaker 1: team to the promised lamb. Like what they've won cannot
Speaker 1: be measured in a trophy. They create a legacy that
Speaker 1: it's gonna last far beyond this moment. I couldn't be
Speaker 1: more proud. I think I'm very proud we got to
Speaker 1: all the bar and the spirit of after war, after
Speaker 1: nationally um championship turnament. I don't think we could too bad.
Speaker 1: I think the most important things and I don't want
Speaker 1: to cry when I say this, I think the most
Speaker 1: important thing is just putting small hbc U s on
Speaker 1: the map. I think just showing people that you can
Speaker 1: go to Dealard, you can be the captain of the
Speaker 1: mock trial team, go to nationals. A lot of students
Speaker 1: that I know in pre law came to Dealer just
Speaker 1: for the mock trial team, and not all of them
Speaker 1: made it, but like made it on the team. But
Speaker 1: the fact that we were able to accomplish this after,
Speaker 1: to be honest, having a losing streak. We hadn't made
Speaker 1: it out of regional since before I even got there.
Speaker 1: So just to be able to show, you know, our
Speaker 1: student body what we've been working for. Their people who
Speaker 1: have invited us to parties and we couldn't go because
Speaker 1: we had competition people who wanted us to do whatever,
Speaker 1: and we couldn't. We sacrificed a lot and for them
Speaker 1: to finally see, oh, this is what you were working for,
Speaker 1: it feels really good. Mhm. So when I arrived on campus,
Speaker 1: I was very nervous at first, because for some reason,
Speaker 1: it didn't seem like I was like worthy of that experience.
Speaker 1: I was in a full trench coat with my neck pillow,
Speaker 1: my suitcase, like I obviously just came from the airport.
Speaker 1: I was asking around for directions because I didn't know
Speaker 1: where I was going, and I kept mispronouncing like the
Speaker 1: name of the hall I was supposed to be at,
Speaker 1: and everybody was like, what are you talking about. I
Speaker 1: never thought that I would, you know, go to Harvard.
Speaker 1: In fact, it wasn't even my first, you know choice.
Speaker 1: I was just like, I know, I want to be
Speaker 1: on mock trial. Let me see the mock trial room,
Speaker 1: like let me see where I'm going to be practicing
Speaker 1: and studying, just seeing the courtroom. And it wasn't even
Speaker 1: that fancy. I'm not gonna lie to you, but the
Speaker 1: history behind it and they have this um competition where
Speaker 1: like every at the finals, every year, there's a Supreme
Speaker 1: Court justice that sits to judge the competition. And they
Speaker 1: were like, well, hopefully we can get Judge Jackson since
Speaker 1: she was just confirmed she's an alum, and I was like,
Speaker 1: I would kill to be in the room if she
Speaker 1: were to judge one of our competitions. So I just
Speaker 1: I didn't feel out of place anymore. I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I don't care that there's eighty students here. I don't
Speaker 1: care that there's only five black students in the class.
Speaker 1: Right now, I just cared that this actually makes sense
Speaker 1: to me. And I know not everything is gonna make
Speaker 1: sense to me in law school, but the fact that
Speaker 1: I felt like I could go there and it could
Speaker 1: be completely fine, that I won't feel like a fish
Speaker 1: out of water, that I know I'll be able to
Speaker 1: handle it, that was what was most important to me,
Speaker 1: just you know, knowing that I'll be okay. I guess
Speaker 1: to be sure, I have worked hard to get to
Speaker 1: this point in my career, and I have now achieved
Speaker 1: something far beyond anything my grandparents could have possibly ever imagined.
Speaker 1: But no one does this on their own the path
Speaker 1: was cleared for me so that I might rise to
Speaker 1: this occasion, And in the poetic words of Dr my Angelu,
Speaker 1: I do so now while bringing the gifts my ancestors
Speaker 1: gave I. I I am the dream and the hope
Speaker 1: of the slave. So so as I take on this
Speaker 1: new role, I strongly believe that this is a moment
Speaker 1: in which all Americans can take great pride. We have
Speaker 1: come a long way towards perfecting our union. In my family,
Speaker 1: it took just one generation to go from segregation to
Speaker 1: the Supreme Court of the Natime, and it is an honor,
Speaker 1: the honor of a lifetime for me to have this
Speaker 1: chance to join the court, to promote the rule of
Speaker 1: law at the highest level, and to do my part
Speaker 1: to carry our shared project of democracy and equal justice
Speaker 1: under law forward into the future. Thank you again, Mr
Speaker 1: President and members of the Senate for this incredible honors.
Speaker 1: Beautiful Oh yes, I'm actually Dillard was ranked in the
Speaker 1: top fifty most beautiful campuses in the country. So the
Speaker 1: this is the main part of the campus. These are
Speaker 1: the dorms. This is William's dorm um. The bookstory gym
Speaker 1: and thinks of that nature right here Dent's straight Ahead.
Speaker 1: This is where the basketball team plays. So we have
Speaker 1: four years to prepare ourselves for going into the world
Speaker 1: and into a world that wasn't designed for them and
Speaker 1: for me personally at h b c U, and I
Speaker 1: know a lot of black students feel the same way.
Speaker 1: We are safe. It is four years of only black people,
Speaker 1: and it's only black people teaching black people how to
Speaker 1: move in the world that is not made for them.
Speaker 1: It's hard for me to really judge whether or not
Speaker 1: a certain generation is gonna be the change because we've
Speaker 1: been talking about, oh, this generation is gonna be the
Speaker 1: change since the civil rights movement. But I will say
Speaker 1: that more often than not, you will find young people
Speaker 1: who are sitting here saying, obviously what you did was
Speaker 1: not enough to fix the problem. And that's not that's
Speaker 1: not a dig at what was done before. But that's
Speaker 1: me saying I'm gonna take what you're doing and do
Speaker 1: something more with it. It's just like that. So this
Speaker 1: is our professional Schools building UM. This house is largely
Speaker 1: more so some of our like science major stuff. The
Speaker 1: third floor is where all the labs are. We also
Speaker 1: have another building for it UM, but this school also
Speaker 1: helps like our nursing program um. This is where the
Speaker 1: freshmen get their first year seminars. Basically, Some Last Action
Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio and Sound Argument.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i
Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.