“Attending the National Voir Dire Competition was an extremely rewarding experience. The process of choosing a jury is often overlooked in trial advocacy classes; however, I have come to learn that building a rapport with the individual jurors and understanding their thought processes so that you are able to choose the right panel of twelve will truly make or break your case.” – Jonathon Strait

Two teams from Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law competed in the Show Me Challenge National Voir Dire Tournament hosted by the University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Law that took place April 3-5, 2014. This was the first time Fowler School of Law sent any teams to this competition. One team consisted of Jonathan Clayton (JD ‘14), Clay O’Neal (JD ‘14) and Devin “Seamus” Crowley (JD ’14). The second team included Jared Berman (JD ‘15), Cyrus Shahbazian (JD ‘14) and Jonathon Strait (JD ‘14). Our team of Berman, Shahbazian and Strait advanced to the semifinals.

“My team went to the semifinals ranked 3rd out of 16 teams. It’s amazing to think how much more capable all of us are in Voir Dire having competed in this tournament.” – Jared Berman

“Because this was the first time Fowler was competing in this competition, we didn’t know what to expect. The Show Me Challenge was a great experience.” – Cyrus Shahbazian

The Fowler Law students that competed in this event were members of the Mock Trial Board at Fowler School of Law. On this Board, teams prepare and argue a case in an actual courtroom, with members of the bench and bar serving as judges. The cases argued are carefully drafted legal problems that give members an opportunity to develop and enhance their trial advocacy skills in a courtroom setting. One thing that sets our program apart from other schools is our coaches – all of them were on the Fowler Mock Trial Board, did extremely well in mock trial and are currently either District Attorneys or civil litigators.