Here is AJ's account of the competition.
The Inaugural National Voir Dire Invitational Show Me Challenge, hosted by the
University of Missouri Kansas City took place the weekend of April 12. UMKC’s
Director of Advocacy, Rafe Foreman and his army of volunteers made sure that
this first time competition was going to be a first class event. From all of
the comments I heard throughout the tournament, they exceeded all expectations.
The tournament itself was the largest unknown. It all
started at the Educating Advocates Conference last summer. (Here is a plug for
everyone to go this year because great ideas come out of EATS – for more info
visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/conferences/eats/).
During a break out session where ideas were being shared, Rafe was talking to
directors and coaches from all over the country with an idea of trying to bring
back voir dire as an art that needs to be taught at law schools and believed it
can start with a competition. A lot of egging on and an idea turned into a
reality. To my knowledge, this is a one of a kind competition. After some last
minute cancellations, there were twelve teams from nine schools competing at
the event; Baylor, Creighton, Drake (2), Maryland, Mississippi College of Law,
South Texas, Southern Illinois(2), Texas Tech and Washburn (2) sent three
member teams.
For our team, this was really unchartered territory. Voir
dire in Maryland is done by the court, never by the attorneys. While judges do
permit follow up questions, almost all of the questioning comes from the bench.
This was the first hurdle for our team and after talking to other coaches at
the competition, this was the same hurdle everyone faced. Finding information
on voir dire was equally difficult. There is very little literature on the
subject matter and the few videos that are available show many more methods you
should not do, than should. It seemed as though most teams took the same
approach of finding someone with some expertise, getting as much information
you could from the source, and then adapt to your team’s style. This meant that
most teams were expecting other teams to be nothing like their team, and we
were not disappointed in that belief.
My team arrived Wednesday evening. After a day of travel,
there were only two things to do: check into the hotel and get something to
eat. The host hotel was the Hotel Raphael, A Marriott, Autograph Collection
hotel. Every room was a suite with a small living room separate from the
bedroom, for plenty of work space and for less than half the price we usually
pay. Not all of the teams stayed at the Raphael, but they should have. While we
were checking in, I contacted Rafe for dinner recommendations. We went to a
famous, hole in the wall, Kansas City BBQ joint called Arthur Bryant’s (http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/index.htm),
and it did not disappoint. It was three blocks away from the National Negro
Leagues Baseball Hall of Fame on the eve of the premier of the movie 42. The
town was buzzing and worth a second visit.
The coaches’ meeting was Thursday night and was as cordial
a meeting as you would expect. I think I may have set a record for the number
of pages of notes I took at the meeting. Rafe and his Assistant Director
Michelle did a great job explaining the format, the events and how the
competition would be judged. Rafe also laid down the law on time. He had over
500 volunteers lined up for the tournament and he was hell bent on holding
everyone accountable to time. The buses were leaving the hotel at 7:30am and
you needed to be on it. Trials started at 9, 12:30 and 3 and he would not let
them start late. Every facet of the trial was subject to strict time limits,
including comments (great tactic here: the bailiffs actually timed comments and
gave the judges a countdown if they needed it). After the coach’s meeting, Rafe took a page
from the South Texas Challenge playbook and treated all of the teams and his
prime volunteers to a nice Italian dinner at a local restaurant. To start the
dinner, we were greeted by the Kansas City Mayor who recorded a welcome and
thanked us for going to Kansas City. It was a nice way for teams to introduce
themselves to one another and share some cheer before the rounds.
As promised, the bus left at 7:32. This was two minutes
later than Rafe’s announced time, and Rafe was fuming we were running late.
Rafe and his team secured the Federal Courthouse, but this was also a day when
700 people were being sworn in as citizens. To say that the courthouse was at
peak capacity was an understatement and getting the teams, judges and panels through
security on time was a major challenge.
Our first round started a few minutes late, with all but
one round with 11 jurors, a 12th juror was a volunteer attorney and
a presiding judge. Rafe made sure that all of the attorneys on the panel or
presiding, were attorneys that practiced voir dire.
As for the teams themselves, the competition rules
ensured that no team could present a one-man show. There were three advocates
on every team, with each advocate switching roles after every round so that
each member was judged at least once in each facet of the competition. The
first advocate conducted a half hour voir dire of the panel. The second advocate
took notes and then argued the causal and peremptory challenges. The jury panel
was then reduced to five citizens and one lawyer. The 3rd advocate then
conducted an opening statement to the chosen jury panel.
There was a total of 15 ballots for each round,
guaranteeing there could not be any ties. The jury panel each had two votes for
the best voir dire and the best opening. The judge had two ballots for the same
areas, plus an additional ballot for best 2nd chair. After the jury
was selected, the judge read the notes from the second chair to help decide
which side won. The voting in this competition was very unique. Each ballot had
a purpose and a single vote. For example, for the voir dire, the ballot listed
the two competitors by number and then listed who won. All of the ballots went
the same way.
The preliminary rounds started within ten minutes either
side of the stated start time. All of the jurors played themselves, which added
a special twist to the competition.
Our case was a real life story about a woman who was
claiming sexual harassment and retaliation in the work place. The jury panel
consisted of victims of sexual harassment or assault, or family members or
friends that knew of people that were victims. It also had people that were
accused of sexual harassment, or business owners or managers that had to fight
allegations of the same. This twist forced our advocates to be sensitive with
the issues, while still needing to pick the jury. Throughout the preliminary
rounds, the comments between team members were the same. Everyone they faced
was different from everyone else. The styles varied greatly from very casual to
very straightforward. The funny thing is that everyone was certain the rounds
were very close.
After the rounds, Rafe sent us to a dueling piano bar
where we were treated to some Oklahoma Joes BBQ and a chance to let loose a
little. The party continued well after the four semi-finalists were announced.
Creighton was chosen to face off against Texas Tech and Maryland was set to
face S. Texas College of Law. The semi-final round had a twist from the preliminary
rounds. In this round, a team could bring back a panelist to rehabilitate
during the for cause arguments. After the 1st round, Maryland was
set to face off against Texas Tech. All of the rounds were conducted with the
best sportsmanship and great advocacy from all of the teams.
Saturday afternoon, UMKC hosted a reception for the
awards ceremony and naming the inaugural champions. We were greeted by Dean
Ellen Suni, who thanked everyone for a great competition and presented each
award. The awards for the event were some of the nicest I have ever seen at a
competition and they all had a special meaning. For individual awards, Baylor
won the Most Professional Team award, Texas Tech won Best Voir Dire, Mississippi
won Best Opening and Maryland won Best 2nd Chair and Best Overall
Advocate. Each semi-finalist received an award and then Texas Tech was crowned
the Tournament Champions on an 8 to 7 final round.
There are some really great competitions out there that
make me want to go back to on a regular basis. In just its first year, the Show
Me Challenge has joined ranks with those other competitions. Wonderful hospitality;
fantastic advocates in a one of a kind competition and a great venue. I hope we
are invited back and I encourage other schools to experience this competition.
Lastly, I want to thank Rafe, Michelle, Dean Suni and all
of the many moving parts at UMKC for rolling out the red carpet the way they
did. They are a class act and have shown how to run a competition the right
way. Thank you for everything.
--AJ Bellido de Luna
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
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