Birmingham and Mock Trial

Today in Tallahassee, I found pollen on my car for the first time this year. I also turned on the air conditioner in my car for the first time since September or October. During my drive to school, I saw a dogwood tree in full bloom. I am glad that the cold weather is fading away...

And last weekend, I had the privilege of competing in my final Mock Trial tournament. I was part of a team that Florida State Law sent to the Texas Young Lawyer's Association (TYLA) regional competition. This tournament is one of if not the most popular Mock Trial tournaments in the country. It is a national event, with many of the law schools in the country sending a team to their respective regional contest. Our region includes Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. The regional winners go on to Houston in April for the finals.

The Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham served as this year's regional host. The city has a beautiful courthouse where all the teams competed. My team did fairly well. We beat Barry University, the University of Miami, and lost a close contest to the University of Alabama. Our 2-1 record wasn't quite good enough to reach the semifinals, so we were done with the competition on Saturday night.

This gave us the opportunity to see a little of the city. During our trip, we stayed at the Sheraton in downtown Birmingham. On Saturday night, Kid Rock performed right across the street. To my surprise, he has quite a following. Kid Rock groupies filled up the rooms of the hotel, and well before the concert began my hall was littered with beer bottles and empty cigarette boxes. I enjoyed mingling with the fans before I hit the town Saturday night. I was used to their thick southern accents, but to hear guys speaking the southern working class dialect while wearing all black and eyeliner was a bit unique.

When we left the hotel, my teammates and I took a cab to a section of town called "The Five Points." This area had a good feel to it. We discovered a cool little place called The Blue Monkey Lounge tucked at the end of a cobblestone street. My teammates' company, the atmosphere, the music, the drinks, and the women there were fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and all of us, I think, appreciated blowing off some steam. If I am ever in Birmingham again, "The Five Points" is a place to which I would return. Here is a link to the Blue Monkey Lounge website: http://bluemonkeylounge.com/

As far as the competition itself, my only regret is that I did not get a chance to go in more trials. Each time I compete, I feel myself getting stronger, getting better. I was conscious of how good I felt once the trial got going. Sure, I was nervous before and during the competition. That will probably always be there, and sometimes the nerves show through a bit. But I was also aware of my confidence. It is not an overstatement to say that for certain flashes during the trial, I felt invincible.

That feeling, that rush, is the best thing the Mock Trial Team has given me. I have learned and continue to learn a lot about how trials work and what I need to do to win. And, foolishly or not, I now believe that I can beat anyone in a courtroom on a given day... Bring in the top trial lawyers in the country. I'll go head to head with them. Bring in anyone with style and presence: President Obama, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise from A Few Good Men, I'll take on whomever walks into the courtroom. This is silly boasting, I know, but it is really a great, rare feeling when this kind of rush hits me before or during a trial.

Anyway, my Mock Trial competition days are over, and I am a little sad about that. I think that if there was a 4L year in law school, I would stop focusing so much on my grades and instead compete in as many tournaments as I could. Once you really start learning what to do, Mock Trial can become addictive.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn