Stephen S. Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program Provides Technology Training for the Courtroom

Program Prepares Students for Practice in the Digital Age


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2014 – The nationally recognized Stephen S. Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) continues to experience remarkable growth, offering a record 17 specialized trial advocacy courses in 39 small sections to more than 475 students this past academic year. The program provides experiential learning opportunities for students to hone pre-trial and courtroom skills in a controlled simulation clinic using a hands-on teaching style and cutting-edge technology.

“The Trial Advocacy Program exemplifies our commitment to ensuring that students enter the legal community with solid advocacy skills and a strong ethical foundation,” said Dean Claudio Grossman.

 
VIDEO: Trial Advocacy Students Share Experiences Gaining Courtroom Skills at AUWCL
 



   

The Trial Advocacy Program includes the Master of Laws in Advocacy (Advocacy LL.M.), which offers students a multifaceted approach to learning through a breadth of specialized litigation-related courses, access to advanced courtroom technology, externship opportunities in the Washington, D.C. area, and optional credits for research projects and classroom teaching. Dual LL.M. degrees with the law school’s Programs on Law and Government and International Legal Studies are also available.

The Program is also home to the Litigation Skills Summer Institute, an experiential two-week program for those interested in mastering litigation skills. The program features intensive litigation courses designed for attorneys seeking to sharpen
their pre-trial and courtroom skills and for law students looking for an advantage in this competitive job market. Now in its second year, the Summer Institute welcomed 40 practitioners and students this summer. This year’s Institute courses focused on fact and expert witness deposition, use of technology in the courtroom, and civil trial presentation techniques. 

The Trial Advocacy Program has expanded its focus on the use of technology in the courtroom through the addition of specialized courses:

Litigating In a High Tech Courtroom – Students organize electronically stored information using case management software, take videotaped depositions, and prepare and present visual evidence using PowerPoint graphics and other trial presentation software to a mock jury in a trial presided over by a federal judge.

Electronic Discovery – Participants analyze discovery issues relating to electronically stored information and explore policy developments in this area of law. They prepare for pretrial conferences, draft pleadings, and argue motions involving the discovery and retention of electronically stored information.

Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony – Students focus on how to analyze, present, and challenge expert testimony, including using digital technology, as it pertains to multiple fields of scientific evidence.

Social Media and The Law – Students examine the importance of social media in today’s society and the use of technology to facilitate communication. They gain an understanding of current issues as well as emerging trends, including how attorneys and jurors use technology to gain information about a case and for third party communication.

These courses and others make full use of the Program’s advanced courtroom technology. The Program’s courtroom houses the latest in evidence presentation and audio-visual recording equipment, such as interactive screens on counsel tables, in the jury box, witness stand, and the judge’s bench; large rotating screens with smart board technology to manipulate exhibits; as well as an inventory of iPads for students to use applications that help modify and publish exhibits electronically during trial. In addition, a built-in evidence camera on the counsel podium permits counsel to seamlessly present physical and documentary evidence to the jury. Directional cameras in the courtroom and jury deliberation room allow for immediate playback in the courtroom and simultaneous webcasting.

Trial Advocacy faculty and staff ensure they remain informed about the most up-to-date advances in technology in the courtroom by publishing about litigation in the digital age.

Professor David E. Aaronson, Director of the Trial Advocacy Program, co-authored an article that discusses remedies to address the increasing evidence of juror misconduct through the use of social media and proposes model pattern jury instructions. The article, entitled “Modernizing Jury Instructions in the Age of Social Media,” was featured in the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice magazine (27 ABA Crim. Just. 4, Winter 2013).

Professor Elizabeth L. Lippy, Assistant Director of the Trial Advocacy Program, authored a casefile featuring Facebook, email, video, and text messaging evidence. The casefile, titled Evans v. Washingtonia State University, published in 2014 by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, features a civil negligence case arising from alleged cyberbullying in a university setting.

The Trial Advocacy Program hosted and competed in a number of mock trial competitions over the year, including:

  • The annual Mock Trial Honor Society (MTHS) Training Workshop and the Intra-Society Mock Trial Competition give MTHS members a jumpstart on their trial skills development and provide an opportunity to evaluate students for competition selection.
  • The MTHS fielded competition teams for 14 mock trial competitions across the nation.
  • The 2014 National Trial Competition Regional Tournament was co-hosted by trial advocacy programs from AUWCL, University of Maryland and Catholic University.  Two AUWCL teams made it to the final rounds with one finishing as the champion.
  • The Sixth Annual Capitol City Challenge Mock Trial Competition was held this past spring. Competitors from 20 law schools nationwide competed in six full-trial rounds held at AUWCL and D.C. Superior Court. Over 120 experienced federal and state judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and private practice attorneys served as evaluators.

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In 1896, American University Washington College of Law became the first law school in the country founded by women. More than 100 years since its founding, this law school community is grounded in the values of equality, diversity, and intellectual rigor. The law school's nationally and internationally recognized programs (in clinical legal education, international law, and intellectual property to name a few) and dedicated faculty provide its 1,700 JD, LL.M., and SJD students with the critical skills and values to have an immediate impact as students and as graduates, in Washington, D.C. and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu.