RALEIGH, N.C. – Campbell Law third-year student advocates Dutch Entwistle and Jacob Morse placed second overall at the National Trial Competition regionals over the weekend in Athens, Ga. Fellow third-year students Gray Smith and Carolina Wahoff also competed. All Campbell Law student advocates were able to participate in the competition because of the financial support of Anderson Jones, PLLC.
This year’s competition problem involved prosecuting an individual alleged to have violated federal law by distributing over a kilogram of heroin into the local community. Twenty-one law school teams from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia competed in the tournament.
Both Campbell Law duos drew strong opponents in the preliminary rounds, facing teams Wake Forest, UNC, Elon and Charleston. Entwistle and Morse swept their preliminary opponents while Smith and Wahoff defeated one while splitting ballots on the second. After the preliminary rounds, Entwistle and Morse were named the top seed in the competition and advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the advanced rounds, Entwistle and Morse handily defeated their Wake Forest opponents, winning every judge’s ballot to secure a spot in the championship round. Entwistle and Morse represented the government against a team from South Carolina representing the defendant. At the conclusion of the three hour trial, the five judges were split – two for the government and two for the defense. The tie breaking ballot fell in favor of the defense by a total of two points.
The teams were coached by Campbell Law Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Advocacy Program Dan Tilly and 2012 Campbell Law graduate Maria Hawkins.
The NTC was established in 1975 to encourage and strengthen student advocacy skills through quality competition and valuable interaction with members of the bench and bar. The trial program is designed to expose law students to the nature of trial practice and to serve as a supplement to their education. The Texas Young Lawyers Association, in partnership with the American College of Trial Lawyers, sponsors the competition in an effort to meaningfully contribute to the development of future trial lawyers. Each year the competition rotates between civil and criminal mock trials.
Anderson Jones, PLLC is a Raleigh based firm that focuses on a variety of practice areas, and each attorney possesses a wide range of experiences and backgrounds which are suited to accomplish the goals and needs of their clients. Founding partner Todd A. Jones is a 1998 Campbell Law graduate. He previously served as the founding chair of the Campbell Law Alumni Association and remains on the board of directors.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW:
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law School has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. The school has twice received the Gambrell Professionalism Award from the American Bar Association, honoring its First-Year Professionalism Development Series in 2003 and the Connections mentorship program in 2016. The school has also been recognized by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 3,900 alumni, including more than 3,000 who reside and work in North Carolina. In September 2009, Campbell Law relocated to a state-of-the-art building in downtown Raleigh. For more information, visit http://law.campbell.edu.
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