Mock Trial Team, Cal Poly (SLO)

Interested in law?

Thinking about law school?

Want some hands-on courtroom experience? The Cal Poly SLO Mock Trial team trains students for annual intercollegiate competitions sponsored by the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA). Every year AMTA publishes a fictitious legal case, and teams from across the country argue the case in front of real judges. It's the closest you can get to real trial experience without going to law school. For more information about Mock Trial in general, click here.

There are two ways to participate:

Mock Trial Class -- Cal Poly offers a two-quarter sequence of classes designed to help teams prepare for competitions: POLS 295 (fall) and POLS 395 (winter). These for-credit classes are a great way to get ready for competitions while putting Mock Trial into the broader context of the American legal system. For more information about the class, click here. To see a recent syllabus from POLS 295, click here.

Club Teams -- Students who can't or don't want to take the Mock Trial class can organize club teams of 6-10 members. Club teams will have access to all of the materials used by students in the Mock Trial class. For more information about how to form and run a club team, click here.

Official Teams -- At the end of the Fall quarter, we select our four official teams (based on how the teams did at Fall scrimmages and invitationals). During Winter quarter, the official teams participate in intercollegiate competitions.

If you are interested in taking the class or joining a club team, please contact mocktrial@calpoly.edu.

(Please note that the teams are only open to undergraduates enrolled at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.)