University of Mississippi School of Law second-year students Russ Barnett and Joshua Cook were named finalists in the John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition at George Mason University Law School in Washington, D.C. held Feb. 14-16.
Barnett was also named Best Advocate for the Prosecution.
The prestigious competition featured competitors from law schools from across the country, including Harvard, University of Virginia, Georgetown, Michigan, Emory, Duke, Loyola New Orleans, Colorado, University of Connecticut, William and Mary, West Virginia, Richmond, Howard, SMU, NYU, Houston, LSU, BYU, UC Davis, Maine, Wisconsin, University of Seattle, St. John’s University, and American University.
The Costello competition brings in judges and practitioners to simulate a real-life criminal trial. The team received a fact pattern containing more than 150 pages of witness statements and evidence exhibits last month in order to prepare for the competition, which involved developing opening and closing statements as well as direct and cross examination questions.
“It appears overwhelming at first, but with time and preparation the case before you becomes clear,” said Barnett. “Over the course of the three days we conducted five trials and had little time to rest, but it was a blast! Overall it was a wonderful experience and we are so proud to represent Mississippi so well amongst the top law schools in the nation.”
In the first round, Barnett and Cook defeated George Washington University. On the second day of competition, the UM team defeated both UConn and Harvard to advance to the semi-finals, where they were given new information for the upcoming round, including two new expert witnesses.
The final round was held at the Arlington County Courthouse in Virginia in front of a presiding judge.
“It was an honor and a blessing to travel to our nation’s capital to represent Ole Miss Law,” said Cook. “The weeks leading up to the competition were very long and rigorous as we prepared to represent our fictional public interest in our case. We were very thankful that our hard work and long hours paid off when the judges awarded us as finalists in this competition.”
UM Law’s Trial Advocacy Board currently has 27 members. The goal of the organization is to assist students interested in pursuing a practice in litigation to cultivate and improve their advocacy skills.
Each year, the board holds an internal competition hosted by Jackson-based law firm Steen, Dalehite & Pace. Additionally, the board competes in several external competitions around the country. In addition to the Costello competition, this year the Trial Advocacy Board is sending teams to compete in the Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition, Stetson Law School’s competition in Florida, and George Washington University’s Estrella Trial Competition in San Juan, Puerto Rico.