William & Mary Team Wins Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Tournament

The William & Mary National Trial Team won first place at George Mason's John C. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Tournament on Jan. 24. 

Two teams from William & Mary competed at the tournament held at the Fairfax Country Courthouse.  The winning team consisted of Hunter Allen '10, Lindsay Naiman '11, and Madelyn Buckley '12.  The second team, which made it to the semi-finals as the third-place team, included Sara Chamberlain '10, Brianna Coakley '11, and Caitlyn Cotter '12.   Both teams prepared the defense side of the case. Only one defense team could advance to the final round.  

William & Mary's teams included first-year students who played the roles of witnesses.  Hunter Allen '10 noted that Madelyn Buckley and Caitlyn Cotter did an outstanding job as witnesses, and added that a number of judges commented that they seemed much more experienced than 1Ls. Allen said that both teams also received high praise from judges for both professionalism and skill.

The Trial Team is coached by Adjunct Professor Jeffrey A. Breit.