Washington, DC, November 9, 1995 -- Beating back fierce competition from 11 other
law schools, a team of four students representing Stetson University College of Law
took top honors in the 1995 Cathy E. Bennett National Criminal Trial Competition,
sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and
held at NACDL's Fall Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 25 -28.
Teams from Hofstra University School of Law (in Hempstead, New York),
University of New Mexico School of Law (in Albuquerque), and Southwestern
University School of Law (in Los Angeles, California) finished second, third and
fourth, respectively.
The Cathy E. Bennett Best Overall Advocate Award was awarded to third-year
Hofstra student Mary Beth T. Ott, of Valley Stream, New York. Other individual
awards included: Best Advocate, Round 1 -- Tom Prislipsky (University of Akron,
third-year, evening), of Boardman, Ohio; Best Advocate, Round 2 -- Chris Schaller
(Gonzaga University, third-year), of Olympia, Washington; and Best Advocate, Round
3 -- Stephanie Duncan-Brent (Georgia State University, third-year), of Pickens, South
Carolina.
The Bennett Competition provides law students from around the country an
opportunity to sharpen and test their practical skills in mock criminal trials judged by
the nation's best criminal defense lawyers. The competition, hosted each year by
NACDL and organized by University of Georgia Law Professor Wendy Jenkins, is
dedicated to the memory of "Cat" Bennett, a pioneering jury consultant and beloved
NACDL member. A record 56 schools applied for the 12 available slots this year.
This year's mock case was a prosecution for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
Each round of the competition consisted of a three-hour trial in which team members
presented opening and closing arguments, examined and cross-examined witnesses,
introduced physical evidence, and argued objections and pretrial motions.
*Photos of winners and teams are available by mail or Fed-Ex on request.
Stetson's winning team of future litigators included second-year student Tangela
Hopkins, of Thomasville, Georgia; and third-year students Jason Recksiedler, of
Winnipeg, Canada; Sarah Crossman, of Melbourne and Orlando, Florida; and Maria
Tejedor, of Tampa, Florida. The team was coached by Kathleen Hessinger, an attorney
with Harris, Barrett, Mann & Dew, of St. Petersburg, Florida. Students on the first-place team will share a $2,000 prize donated by Friends of NACDL.
The second-place Hofstra University School of Law team was made up of third-year students Kathleen M. Dillon, of Muttontown, New York; Alicia M. Gerez, of
Brooklyn, New York; Brian B. Manoff, of New City, New York; and Ms. Ott. They
were coached by Associate Professor Stefan Krieger and Professor Lawrence Kessler.
The team took home a $1,000 prize, courtesy of Friends of NACDL.
On the team from University of New Mexico School of Law, which placed third,
were third-year students Varrell Fuller, of Miami Florida; Vincent Martinez, of Santa
Fe, New Mexico; K.C. Maxwell, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Glenn Smith
Valdez, of Albuquerque. Professor Barbara Bergman and attorney Charles Daniels (of
Albuquerque's Freedman, Boyd, Daniels, Peifer, Hollander, Guttmann & Goldberg)
coached the New Mexico team.
Fourth-place Southwestern University School of Law was represented by third-year students Jon Birdt, of Los Angeles, California; DeAnn Flores, of West Los
Angeles, Daniel McCann, of Torrance, California; and Lani R. Miller, of Mission
Viejo, California. Their coach was Adjunct Law Professor Joey Esposito, who is also
a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles.
Also competing in the criminal trial competition were law student teams from
DePaul University, Georgia State University, Gonzaga University, Southern Methodist
University, Suffolk University, University of Miami, University of Tennessee, and
University of Akron.
"Cat" Bennett worked with lawyers in over 750 trials and especially enjoyed
training young lawyers in the art of working with juries. Her devotion to the jury
process and dedication to individual rights earned her the highest esteem of her
NACDL colleagues, who presented her with a lifetime achievement award in 1991,
shortly before she lost her six-year battle with cancer at the age of 41.
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)