ECC mock trial team holds its own at Yale Invitational

The Elgin Community College Mock Trial team received an unexpected last minute invitation to head to Yale University to compete against some of the best teams in the country and did more than hold their own last weekend.

While competing as the only two-year college at the Yale Invitational, the team from Elgin fared better than seven of the 18 teams in their division including Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Miami, Wellesley College, Northwood University and the University of Florida. The team finished in a tie with Cornell College and Boston University.

“It was amazing, it was just incredible,” said team captain Judie Spence. “We were the only community college out there, and of the entire team there are only two of us who returned from last year.”

The ECC team was coming off a first place finish at its own inaugural Golden Gavel Mock Trial Invitational in mid-November, when it received the call from Yale on Nov. 28, just four days before they would leave for Connecticut.

The team may have been a last-minute replacement for a school that dropped out, but that did not stop them from winning all three ballots when they faced off against the University of Miami, tied the ballot with Cornell University and took one of three when they faced the University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University. The team’s weekend resulted in 5½ ballots won and 6½ lost, according to their coach Rebecca Koper, an alumna of the team.

“For our first Ivy League, we were very happy with it,” she said, of this year’s team.

Two years ago an ECC team was invited to Harvard University and last year’s team competed at Cornell University.

The mock trial team argued a criminal case either as a defense team or prosecution team against each school, which revolved around someone who was accused of killing the daughter of the state’s attorney while driving under the influence of alcohol.

“It’s a little bit like a chess match, it’s different every time you see it presented,” Spence said.

About half the team have plans to become a lawyer in the future, but all the members are considering a law-based career, according to Spence.

“It is remarkable that the education we are receiving grants us chances to compete against four-year universities of this caliber,” she said.