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In January 1990 the Chair of the Criminal Justice Section reported to the Board of Governors of The American Bar Association that the Section and The John Marshall Law School recognized "the importance of training law students in trial advocacy and litigation skills."
The report continued: "The Criminal Justice Section is excited about the potential for involvement in this newly proposed criminal trial advocacy program. It provides an important opportunity for the Association to make a contribution towards developing competency among the next generation of lawyers who will work in the nation's criminal justice system."
In February 1990 the ABA's Board of Governors approved the proposal that the Criminal Justice Section and The John Marshall Law School co?sponsor an annual criminal trial advocacy competition for law students. In April 1990 the Executive Director of the ABA, Jill Wine-Banks, and the Dean of The John Marshall Law School, Peter J. McGovern, announced the inauguration of the National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition, with Professor Ronald C. Smith as its Director.
The first Competition, held in 1991, involved the prosecution and defense of a biker charged with attempted murder. The 1992 trial problem was an obstruction of justice case. The 1993 Competition, a la "Operation Greylord," had an undercover "corrupt" lawyer accusing a judge of taking bribe money [one Competition trial took place in the courtroom next to an actual Greylord case]. The 1994 Competition, a theft by deception case, involved an alleged business scam.
In 1995 the defendant was tried for burglary, but claimed the police had "planted" the key evidence. In 1996, a state senator was charged with taking money for official favors. The defendant in 1997 was charged with possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances. The 1998 problem was a "no body" murder case. In 1999, the case presented the opportunity to test the necessity defense: the defendant, a lay-person, distributed AZT and morphine to a government "mole" who claimed, perhaps, to be suffering from AIDS. 2000 featured a "Rodney King" obstruction of justice case in which the police allegedly destroyed photos of the beating (People v. Rigney).
In 1997 the Competition took on an international dimension when a team representing Trinity College School of Law, Dublin, Ireland, came to Chicago and studied American trial advocacy techniques, then ably performed in three rounds of mock trials (using John Marshall students as witnesses). Members of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office acted as advisors to the Irish team.
In 1999 students from Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand, participated in the Competition.
In 2000, a superb team from University College, Dublin, participated and won every vote until defeated by a strong Harvard team. A few months later, in August, these University College of Dublin students again participated in People v. Rigney, - this time as witnesses -- in Dublin in a mock trial program comparing advocacy techniques of Irish barristers and U.S. trial lawyers. Members of the American Bar Association's International Law and Criminal Justice Sections and the Kings Inn of Ireland demonstrated their styles before an international audience in the courtroom of the Irish Supreme Court in the Four Courts building, as part of the ABA's 2000 Annual Meeting (Chicago lawyers Terence MacCarthy, William Hannay, and Professor Ronald C. Smith, and Dallas lawyer Jay Vogelson, represented the United States).
The Competition advances The John Marshall Law School's century-old tradition of excellence in and dedication to the training of lawyers in the art of trial advocacy. To date, over 100 law schools from all regions of the United States have participated in the Competition. Each year over 125 attorneys and judges contribute their time and talent to observing, scoring, and evaluating the student advocates. The Competition has consistently won high praise from all quarters for the excellence of its judges and evaluators, as well as the enthusiasm of its participants. In 1995, the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association authorized an award recognizing the contributions of the Competition to American legal education. The award was presented to The John Marshall Law School at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association in August, 1995.
In the year 2000 two new criminal trial advocacy competitions, modeled after -- and graciously paying homage to -- The John Marshall Law School-ABA Criminal Justice Section's National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition, were created by Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law and by Quinnipiac University School of Law. The November 2000 winners of these two Competitions were automatically invited (Southern Methodist in 2001, Temple in 2002) to our National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition.
At the ABA's 1998 Annual Meeting in Toronto, the Competition won the Section Officers Conference "Best of the Sections" trophy in recognition of the Competition's outstanding contributions to American law. This award pays tribute not only to the Criminal Justice Section and The John Marshall Law School, but also to the many Chicago-area lawyers and judges who have contributed their time and talent to this annual, national law school event. The John Marshall Law School, with justifiable pride, displays this ABA Section Officer's Conference Award in a special case near the Dean's office on the third floor of the School.
Phil Maher, President of the John Marhsall Alumni Association,
gives professors Ron Smith and Ken Kandaras an Alumni Award for their
outstanding work on trial advocacy programs at the Law School, May 2001.
Rachel Davis prepares materials for the Competition.
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