Trial by Combat
Celebrating the best individual collegiate mock trial competitors in the country.
The UCLA School of Law and Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law co-host the Trial by Combat, the 1-on-1 collegiate mock trial national championship. This tournament aims to celebrate the best individual college competitors in the country—and identify the very best.
The eighth annual Trial by Combat will be held at Drexel Law on June 20-22, 2025. We are proud to partner with Drexel, home to one of the most successful trial advocacy law school programs in the nation.
Competition Format
- Competitors receive the case on the morning of the first day of the tournament and have approximately 24 hours to prepare.
- Each trial has two attorneys (P attorney v. D attorney) and two witnesses (P witness v. D witness).
- During the four preliminary trials, each competitor performs each of those four roles exactly once, though significantly greater weight is placed on attorney performance. The top four students compete as attorneys in the Semifinals, and the winners compete as attorneys in the Championship Trial.
- The field is limited to 16 competitors nationwide.
- During the tournament, competitors may receive help/coaching from one person—a coach, a teammate, an alum, whomever they wish.
- When the tournament is virtual, competitors may also receive assistance from a Second Chair -- any current/graduating student from their school.
Tournaments
-
This Year's Tournament
All college competitors are welcome to apply, including those who graduated during the year of the most recent AMTA competition. If you are eligible for AMTA competition, you are eligible for Trial by Combat. There is no registration fee.
Email tournament director Justin Bernstein with questions.
As students are confirmed, we will add their names here:
- Aniyah Nelson (Brown)
These students have been selected for the Play-In:
-
Past Tournaments
Trial by Combat began in 2018. The tournament has drawn elite competitors from the most successful mock trial programs in the country. As just one measure, Trial by Combat competitors have averaged more than one All-American Award.
In 2018, Nick Ramos (NYU) won the final trial against Rachel Sommers (Columbia). Watch the final round. The 16 competitors were Deisy Abarca-Espiritu, University of Rochester; Elizabeth Bays, Yale University; Christopher Grant, Northwood University; Kaitlyn Harper, Northern Illinois University; Stephen Johnson, University of Cincinnati; Mike Kleynman, Rutgers University; Danielle Kunkel, Miami University; Dylan McAuley, University of Richmond; Nick Ramos, New York University; Eric Roytman, The Ohio State University; Jack Seigenthaler, Stanford University; Rachel Sommers, Columbia University; Zeke Starr, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Sarah Stebbins, Georgia Institute of Technology; Enrico Trevisani, University of Arizona; and Deniz Tunceli, University of Virginia.
In 2019, Stephen Johnson (University of Cincinnati) won the final trial against Jonathan Kuang (UCLA). Watch the final round. Natalie Garson (Boston University) and Sabrina Grandhi (University of Virginia) were the semifinalists. The 16 competitors were Mary-Preston Austin, Wheaton College; Elizabeth Bays, Yale University: Regina Campbell, University of Chicago; Daniel Elliott, Rhodes College; Natalie Garson, Boston University; Sydney Gaskins, University of Maryland - Baltimore County; Sabrina Grandhi, University of Virginia; Christopher Grant, Northwood University; Claudine Isaac, New York University; Stephen Johnson, University of Cincinnati; Mike Kleynman, Rutgers University; Jonathan Kuang, University of California, Los Angeles; Jack Seigenthaler, Stanford University: Sarah Stebbins, Georgia Institute of Technology; Steven Torres, Cornell University; and Kyle Westerfer, La Salle University.
In 2020, Sonali Mehta (Duke) won the final trial against Sydney Gaskins (UMBC). Watch the final round. Matt Besman (Ohio State) and Bri Goodchild (Minnesota) were the semifinalists. The other 12 competitors were Steven Becker, Tufts; Josie Bianchi, Stanford; Regina Campbell, Chicago; Julia Greve, Cincinnati; Samuel Gross, Yale; Richard Madden, Rhodes; Elias Neibart, Emory; Daniel Peale, Virginia; Mashell Rahimzadeh, Columbia; Taylor Rich, Florida State; Harsha Sridhar, Georgia Institute of Technology; and Sasha Yusuf, UC Irvine.
In 2021, Audrey Shepard (UCLA) won the final trial against Bennett Demsky (Tufts). Watch the final round. Seva Castleberry (Duke) and Raahema Durrani (Virginia) were the semifinalists. The other 12 competitors were Abby Branham (FSU), Benjamin Crosby (Patrick Henry), Sydney Gaskins (UMBC), Elizabeth Grant (Stanford), Travis Harper (Harvard), Katelyn Hunt (Miami Ohio), Jafar Khalfani-Bey (UC Davis), Riya Lakkaraju (Emory), Montana Love (Yale), Natalie Manoogian (Rhodes College), Sahil Nerurkar (Chicago), and Clay Owens (Ohio State).
In 2022, Benjamin Crosby (Patrick Henry) won the final trial against Riya Lakkaraju (Emory). Watch the final round. Travis Harper (Harvard) and Marra Edwards (Furman) were semifinalists. The other 12 competitors were Ali Alekri (Chicago), Thomas Azari (UMBC), Elizabeth Baldwin (Rhodes), Sara Campbell (Yale), Bennett Demsky (Tufts), Elizabeth Grant (Stanford), Varun Aggarwal (Georgia Tech), Juliana Mayer, (Duke), James Orr (Virginia), Ruby Scanlon (Northwestern), Camille Schaefer (UCLA), and Madelyn Whalen (UCSB).
In 2023, Travis Harper (Harvard) won the final trial against Josiah Jones (UC Irvine). Watch the final round. Michael Sean Wilson (Michigan) and Michael Chandler (Brown) were semifinalists. The other 12 competitors were Tahj Burnett (Northwestern), Ria Debnath (UCLA), Marra Edwards (Furman), Sam Farnsworth (Chicago), Danielle Jacoby (Emory), Divya Kumar (Cincinnati), Arabella Loera (Dayton), Charles Stock (Notre Dame), Margaret Veglahn (Tufts), Bryan Walker (Georgia), Ben Wallace (South Carolina), Aleyna Young (UCSB).
In 2024, Sam Farnsworth (Chicago) won the final trial against Laniya Davidson (Marlyand). Watch the final round. Jon Hubbard (Ohio State) and Audrey Vanderslice (Harvard) were semifinalists. The other 12 competitors were Ria Debnath (UCLA), Charles Stock (Notre Dame), Margaret Veglahn (Tufts), Bryan Walker (Georgia), Destiny Baugh (Rhodes), Ethan Marx (Virginia), Devika Narendra (Oregon), Jackson Kunde (Wisconsin), Everett Parker-Noblitt (Yale), Lyla Zedell (Georgia Tech), Josiah Jones (UC Irvine), and Katie Volpert (Penn).