By Brandi Wylie ’24, student intern
Wofford College will host students from 16 colleges and universities on Feb. 24-25 as they compete in an American Mock Trial Association Regional Tournament. This is the second year Wofford has hosted the regional.
The competition was held on campus last year. This year, the opening and closing ceremonies will be held in Leonard Auditorium, but the competitions will move to the newly-opened Spartanburg County Courthouse.
Teams from Berry College, College of Charleston, Duke University, East Tennessee State, Florida State University, Georgia College and State University, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, LaGrange College, New College of Florida, Spelman College, the University of Alabama, the University of Georgia, the University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina Upstate and Western Carolina University will compete in the regional. Wofford will not compete this year.
Porter Thompson ’24, an accounting and finance major from Asheville, North Carolina, serves as the Wofford team’s president. Thompson coordinated with several people at the courthouse, at Wofford and in the community to make this event possible.
“This weekend, I am more or less a judge liaison,” Thompson says. “I will essentially be in the judge room all weekend talking to them about how things are going and furthering my relationship with them so that they might come back and do it again next year.”
Liv Culver ’24, a government major from Summerville, South Carolina, is the student coordinator for the college’s mock trial team. Her role was recruiting judges, lawyers and other legal professionals to volunteer as judges, as well as scheduling for the tournament.
The event kicks off at 8 a.m. Saturday in Leonard Auditorium. Students will then depart for the Spartanburg County Courthouse, where they will compete until 6 p.m.
The competition continues Sunday, with the closing ceremony set for 6:15 p.m. in Leonard Auditorium.