Law and Quarter: Davidson Mock Trial Program Turns 25
January 14, 2025
- Author
- Caroline Roy '20
Davidson College's current mock trial team.
Jessica Bogo ’02 came to Davidson in the fall of 1998 knowing there was no mock trial program, so she planned to create one.
“I had competed in mock trial in high school and knew I wanted to continue competing in college,” she said. “I also knew this core value at Davidson: If you see a need, you work to fill it.”
So in the spring of 1999, Bogo spoke with Tom Shandley, then dean of students, and other faculty and staff about how to start a program. George Guise ’87 volunteered to serve as an attorney coach for the team.
“With their guidance, I put together the founding documents and submitted a funding request,” she said. “The college enthusiastically supported the program, and students eagerly joined the team in the fall of 1999 to begin preparing for competitions.”
Bogo, now a lawyer in San Francisco, registered Davidson for its first tournament at Furman University in the spring of 2000. Given the strength of the Furman program, Bogo asked their director, Political Science Professor Glen Halva-Neubauer, for guidance on building a successful one at Davidson.
“He was so helpful and enthusiastic,” she said. “Most mock trial programs across the country are driven by professors and/or staff members, but Davidson’s program was uniquely student run.”
Braving an ice storm, Davidson’s first mock trial team competes at the Furman regional tournament in 2000. (Left to right: Joe Harris, Nikki Thomas, Jessica Bogo, Seth Davis, Kelly Byrd, Tadd Bevan, Abigail Ferguson).
Davidson’s first mock trial competition made a big impression, starting with the trip to Furman – which students drove college vans to in the middle of an ice storm. Delayed by road conditions, they stopped at Chili's restaurant to regroup and wait out the weather, knowing they would miss the first round. They arrived an hour later and learned that the other teams had waited for them to begin the tournament. Davidson placed fifth.
“We collectively agreed not to mention Chili’s,” Bogo said. “That tournament highlighted for us that we were real contenders, even in our first year when we were waylaid by an ice storm and a craving for southwestern eggrolls.”
Recruiting, Building and Growing
Mbye Njie ’04 joined the mock trial program as a first-year student and helped continue to build it after Bogo and other founding members graduated. Also an aspiring attorney, he welcomed the opportunity to take on a leadership role. Through his involvement with the Union Board, he knew how to secure more funding and resources.
“We had to actively recruit other students and teach them how to approach cases,” he said. “Mock trial taught me to be an active listener, to pay attention to details and read between the lines of what people are saying. You’re always improvising, because the strategy you go in with may not be the way things end up.”
Njie now owns and operates Legal Equalizer, a start-up whose technology aims to facilitate positive encounters between civilians and law enforcement. As an entrepreneur, he relies on his ability to improvise and pivot.
Jessica Bogo ’02 and Mbye Njie ’04 prepare case theory in the winter of 2001 with their attorney coach, George Guise ’87.
He and Bogo both understood that successful mock trial programs do not focus solely on aspiring lawyers. Strong performances from witnesses and court personnel can make or break a case, and the team became popular with theatre students looking to hone their improv skills. Many cases also contain a medical or scientific component, appealing to yet another group of students.
Twenty-five years later, Davidson’s mock trial program includes more than 50 students across many disciplines. Current Mock Trial President Mary Herdelin ’25, a Daryl Douglas Scholarship recipient, and Vice President Francine Munoz-Gonzalez ’26 both came to Davidson with no prior experience. Before taking on the role of an attorney, Munoz-Gonzalez primarily played witness characters.
“Mock trial puts you on the spot. No matter how much you prepare, anything can happen during the competition. It’s always pushing me out of my comfort zone, teaching me to be dynamic and embody a persona.”
Vice President of Mock Trial
The program has grown significantly since 1999 but remains fully student-run. In the past four years, students attended tournaments across the Southeast and as far as Indiana and Nebraska. Current leaders, like their predecessors, work to secure funding, register for competitions and coach new members while developing their own skills.
“When I started captaining as a sophomore, I was teaching others things I had just learned. You spend many late nights practicing with your teammates — it’s stressful, but it’s a good kind of stress. It has taught me how to be a good colleague and to work with others toward a greater goal.”
Mock Trial President | Daryl Douglas Scholar
In 2022, Bogo learned Davidson would host its own invitational tournament — the inaugural Wildcat Classic — which recently held its third annual event. Swapping stories with current students in the program, she was delighted to learn the team still stops at Chili’s on the way to Furman each year.
“It’s incredible to see the program grow so much while also continuing traditions we established decades ago,” she said. “College is such a formative time, and Davidson prepares its students to take a ‘yes, and’ approach to learning. I am very excited to see what the next 25 years will bring.”
