March 24, 2009
The
St. John’s University Mock Trial Team finished 11th overall at the
2009 Opening Round Championship Series of the National
Intercollegiate Mock Trial Tournament, hosted by Miami University
in Hamilton, Ohio. Competing for the final time, senior
Kudakwashe Chibanda finished the tournament as the top-ranked
attorney with a perfect score of 20.
St. John’s finished the weekend with a 4-4 record, picking up an
opening round win against Case Western University (Squad 1), before
falling by two points to the University of Pennsylvania and
splitting two match-ups against Case Western (Squad 2) and the
University of Notre Dame.
Chibanda’s Outstanding Attorney Award was her 10th individual
award of the season. Also competing for St. John’s were
Donald Bracciodieta, Tahir Boykins, Alexis Patterson, Lisa
Rodrigues, Michael Schillinger, Tarunbir Singh, Jomaire Crawford,
Jessica Hackett and Hadia Ali Sheerazi. The Mock Trial
team is coached by Professors Bernard Helldorfer and Oscar Holt,
III and assisted by Kareem Vessup, Esq.
New York University finished first overall with an 8-0 record
and was followed by the University of Pennsylvania (7-1),
University of Illinois at Chicago (7-1), Miami University (7-1),
Columbia University (5-3) and Miami University (Squad 2,
5-3). These top six teams will advance to the National
Championship Finals in Des Moines, IA.
For more information on the St. John’s University Mock Trial
Team, please contact Professor Bernard Helldorfer by calling (718)
990-7417.