Technology is center stage in national criminal trial competition at John Marshall

Law schools from across the country will put their trial and tech skills to the test at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago March 20-22. The school will host the 24th annual National Criminal Justice Trial Competition, and in an effort to further innovate the event and law students’ experience, teams will be required to use technology in their arguments.

Teams will prosecute and defend Taylor Parker, who has been charged with murder. This competition is co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association and The John Marshall Law School.

More than 100 attorneys and judges, many of whom are John Marshall alumni, will evaluate student performances over the three-day competition.

Professor Susann MacLachlan, director of John Marshall’s Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, said competitors will have the chance to demonstrate their technological acumen in their trials.

“Students at John Marshall use technology in their courtroom presentations through several innovative classes, and we decided to mandate the use of technology for all teams,” she said.

Teams from the following schools will participate:

Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law; Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Florida; Fordham University School of Law in New York; Georgetown University Law Center in Washington; Golden Gate University School of Law in California; Harvard Law School; Howard University School of Law in Washington; Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law; Loyola University Chicago School of Law; Northwestern University Law School; Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center in Florida; Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut; South Texas College of Law; Temple University Beasley School of Law in Pennsylvania; University of California-Berkeley School of Law; University of Denver Sturm College of Law; University of Houston Law Center; University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law; University of South Dakota School of Law; Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana.

For additional information, visit https://www.jmls.edu/criminal-justice-comp/

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