Published October 23, 2013
The University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Mock Trial teams won several awards at the
First Annual Jackson Jamboree at Mississippi College in Jackson, Miss.
ULM sent two teams to the jamboree, a gold team and maroon team, both of which competed
against Millsaps College and Mississippi College.
“By engaging in trial simulation competitions with teams from other universities,
students develop the critical thinking and critical speaking skills, as well as knowledge
of actual legal procedures, that are required to be successful in law school or graduate
school,” said Dr. Joshua Stockley, associate professor of political science at ULM.
“We are the only public university in the state that provides this opportunity to
students; I’m very proud of what our students have been able to accomplish in such
a short span of time.”
Ryan Lloyd, an English major from Gilbert and captain of the gold team, won a Best
Attorney Award and had the overall highest score of all the attorneys in the jamboree.
Jonathan Cobb, a political science major from West Monroe, also won a Best Attorney
award. Joseph Bamburg, a political science major from St. Joseph, and Cheyenne Wilson,
a political science major from Shreveport, both won Best Witness awards.
Both squads are coached by attorney Robert Noel.
“I’m very proud of these students,” said Noel. “Their success reflects the amount
of time they have dedicated to studying the case materials, familiarizing themselves
with legal procedure, and rehearsing with their witnesses and each other. This will
be invaluable experience as we prepare for our first tournament in November.”
The gold team is led by senior attorneys Lloyd and Cobb. Gabriel Silva, a finance
major from Wisner competes as the third attorney for the gold team. Gold team witnesses
are Cheyenne Wilson, Joseph Bamburg, Taylor Ezell, a political science major from
Delhi, Raya Boyte, a political science major from Oak Grove, and Adam Nettles, a history
major from Pineville.
The maroon team is led by senior attorney Gary Blaylock, a political science major
from Columbia. Hilary Solet, a political science major from Houma, and Sierra Lovell,
a political science major from Rayville compete as attorneys for the maroon team.
The maroon team witnesses are Sharmaine Tramble, a political science major from Monroe,
Nick Rose, a political science major from West Monroe, Quientinn Smith, a political
science major from Monroe, and Charles Dupree, a history major from Pioneer.
The two teams have been invited to compete in the Mid-South Invitational Mock Trial
Tournament hosted by Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. in early
November, and the Regional tournament hosted by the American Mock Trial Association
(AMTA) in February.
ULM is the only four-year public university in the state of Louisiana with an active
AMTA affiliated mock trial team. ULM’s team was founded in 2013 by attorney Robert
Noel, with assistance from political science professors Dr. Joshua Stockley and Dr.
John Sutherlin.
The American Mock Trial Association was founded in 1985 and is the governing body
for intercollegiate mock trial competition. AMTA sponsors regional and national-level
competitions, as well as providing interesting and complex case materials for academic
use.
Presently, AMTA hosts 24 regional tournaments, eight opening round championship tournaments
and a national championship tournament each season. Approximately 600 teams from
over 350 universities and colleges will compete in these tournaments.
