Over February break, the Brandeis Mock Trial team competed at its regional competition at Yale University. Brandeis has four competitive teams and one of those teams, known as “Team Twix,” went 5-2-1, beating teams from New Hampshire, Yale, and Lowell during its match play.

The team placed 5th and earned a bid to the National Tournament, at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Team Twix was headed by Robert Gusrae '09 and Mohit Gourisaria '09. Another Brandeis team, known as “Team Milky Way,” led by Julia Simon-Mishel '09 and Wendi Safran '07, narrowly missed a bid to Nationals, coming in 7th place with a 5-3 record. Other teams at the Yale competition included George Washington, Boston University, and Brown.

Award winners at the Yale competition included a Best Witness award for Jess Stone '08 (scoring 18 out of a possible 20) and her portrayal of a CSI, and two Best Witness awards for Michelle Faits '10 and her portrayals of a Police Chief and a Psychiatrist (ranking scores of 17 and 19). A Best Attorney award was given to Aaron Reichlin-Melnick '09 (scoring 19), while Mohit Gourisaria '09 (scoring two 18's) and Simon-Mishel '09 (scoring two 18's) received two Best Attorney awards each.

Next weekend, May 16-18, Brandeis will send a representative team to Nationals. It is the third straight year that Brandeis has sent a team to Nationals. This year's Mock Trial case is Sean Jeffries v. Polk County Police Department. It is about a police shooting of a robbery suspect. In Mock Trial, three students on each team play lawyers in the case, and three students play witnesses. They are judged based on their performance and knowledge of the law.