The IUPUI Mock Trial Team traveled last weekend to the Golden Dome Invitational – hosted by Notre Dame – alongside 16 other teams that are made up of varying universities around the Midwest.

IUPUI started the tournament with rocky footing on Saturday, with a record of 0-4. Sunday, however, was a new day and a different story, as the team finished strong with a 3-1 record to close out the weekend. The team faced many strong challenges on the weekend, competing with students from universities such as Tennesee, Northern Illinois, and Case Western University. The team’s strong finish was sparked by several standout performers on the team.

Ethan Stevenson

Senior and Mock Trial President Ethan Stevenson performed admirably on the weekend within the role of FBI Special Agent Shar Burke. Stevenson has never competed in a witness role before and to the elation of his entire team, scored 15 out of 20 possible ranks on the weekend. See explanation of “ranks” and scoring in Mock Trial: How it works.

Grace Palmer

Grace Palmer, a Sophomore studying Law in Liberal Arts, competed in two rounds as a member of the bye-bust team with an undefeated record of 4-0. When there are an odd number of teams at a tournament, a “bye-bust” team is created each round in order to make sure every team has an opponent, this team is composed of students from a number of random teams who are not competing for their school in an individual round. These bye-bust rounds are performed without any prior practice before competing and give students the opportunity to either work on and perfect a role they’re already familiar with, or to give students the chance to attempt new roles. Without any prior practice for the role assigned on bye-bust, Palmer rose up and was ranked as the top witness on a ballot in the first round of the weekend.

Cora Lopossa

Cora Lopossa saw success at the Golden Dome Invitational as well, as she ranked on every single scored ballot from the weekend, a very impressive feat. Her success came on the heels of stepping in a week prior to the tournament to join the team and with very little practice still managed to perform incredibly. Lopossa is a Sophomore studying Political Science

IUPUI Mock Trial can now look forward to the weekend of November 11-12, as the team hosts their annual Mock-Hundred tournament at the newly constructed Community Justice Center in Indianapolis, IN.