SJSU Mock Trial Program

Hi!

This fundraiser is on behalf of the San José State University Mock Trial Program. Our program focuses on trial advocacy, community involvement, and creating opportunities for the pre-law members of our community. We're composed of two competitive mock trial teams, where undergraduate students take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses, building off of a mock court case. We then compete with other mock trial teams all across the nation, to advance further into the competition, while working closely with real attorneys and judges to build our legal skills. Our program is going into its 5th year since its establishment in 2019, and we've won numerous outstanding witness awards, and ranked highly in competitions since then.

Our program has also hosted many events to engage the SJSU and Bay Area pre-law community, as part of our mission to encourage and educate interested students to find and take opportunities available to them. We hosted a panel with Law School Admission Officers from several schools, who spoke on the application process and gave out resources. Many of our current and former members have experience working as interns with Bay Area Justice Corps, as employees in different Bay Area County Superior Court systems, and as volunteers with inner-city youth. We've also collaborated with the SJSU Pre-Law Society and social activism groups on campus to influence social change and campaign for the rights of the disenfranchised. Alumni that have graduated from our program have been accepted into prestigious law schools and programs like UC Law SF, University of Oregon, Michigan State University, Santa Clara University, McGeorge School of Law, and highly-competitive scholarships such as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington, D.C. The impact that involvement in Spartan Mock Trial has on our members and alumni continues to help with their personal, academic, and professional growth.

As a primarily student-led program, we're solely responsible for raising the funds for our teams, and receive very limited funding from our school. These funds include but aren't limited to plane tickets, housing, travel expenses, rental fees, competition registration fees, materials, court attire, etc. To be able to not just participate but excel in the tournaments, competitions, and events we have throughout the season, while getting the practice and skill development opportunities we need, our program would require a minimum of $10,000 per academic year. We want to ensure that our pre-law students don't lose one of the very few resources accessible to them on campus related to the legal profession— this is why we need your help!

We wholeheartedly thank all of our sponsors for their support and belief in our program's success. With your help, the SJSU Mock Trial Program will be able to further expand in the coming years.