TALLAHASSEE—The Florida State College of Law’s Mock Trial Team took first-place in the 2005 Annual Lone Star Classic National Mock Trial, held last week in San Antonio, Texas. 

Team members Robyn Blank, Joshua Grosshans, Jonathan Stimler and Josh Taylor advanced through six rounds of competition undefeated, maintaining the coveted first-place rank throughout the entire tournament against 16 prestigious law schools from across the country. 

The team beat out the University of South Texas team, which is No. 1 in U.S. News & World Report rankings for trial advocacy, and also dismantled the Cumberland School of Law in the championship round. Cumberland also is considered one of the nation’s top law schools in trial advocacy. 

“We were told repeatedly by judges, attorneys, and other competitors that the FSU team is one of the strongest Mock Trial teams they have ever encountered,” said 3L Joshua Grosshans, Mock Trial Team president. 

The teams coaches were attorneys Roxanne Rehm, a 2003 College of Law graduate, who was on the Mock Trial Team that won the championship at the 2002 Michigan State University National Trial Advocacy Competition, and Maria Santoro, a partner in the Tallahassee firm of George, Hartz, Lundeen, Fulmer, Johnstone, King & Stevens. Clinical Professor Ruth Stone, co-director of the College of Law’s Children’s Advocacy Center is the team’s faculty sponsor. 

Two other College of Law Mock Trial squads also competed last week, this time closer to home. The team of David Brooks, Seth Kerr, Nora Cho, Rebekah Smith, and KF Lee advanced to the Semi-Final Round at the 2005 Annual Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Earl E. Zehmer Memorial Mock Trial Tournament in West Palm Beach. In doing so, the team was acknowledged as one of the top four teams in the state-wide competition of over 16 teams. 

Team members Mike Brown, Shelly Gentner, Demere Mason, Adam Litwin, and Jack O'Neil also competed. 

Coaches were Kathy Garner of The Garner Law Group in Tallahassee and Judge James Wolf of the First District Court of Appeal. 

Mock Trial is composed of national competitors, participating in competitions all over the country. While the majority of the competitions are located in the Southeast, the team has competed as far away from home as Michigan State and Santa Fe. 

The team also is made up of trial advocates, litigating cases before judge and jury on the trial level. Cases encompass a wide-range of topics in both civil and criminal areas. Some prior case topics include; insurance fraud, homicide, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and wrongful death.