Michael Hillinger: Mock Trial

"So, John Pagan, teaching appellate advocacy, and Fred Schauer, who was teaching con law, decided to do a mock argument which was designed to show us what to do, but also what not to do... And that was, from my point of view, one of the best things that they could have done is to show us - not just tell us how to do it or not to do it - but show us how to do it.” -- Michael Hillinger, Class of 1983 and Former Faculty, on mock trial as a teaching tool Rose, Anne. “Work Over, Fun Begins; Mock Trial Mocked.” The Advocate, vol. 12, no. 12, 23 April 1981, p.1. In April 1981, William & Mary law students and faculty put on a mock trial, recounted in this student newspaper article as if it were a real event. The murder trial, though over the top and humorous, was also an opportunity to teach students about the unpredictability of litigation. Michael Hillinger played the role of expert witness, Hungarian coroner Attila Somkuthy, a combative and nonresponsive doctor. His only answer to the central question, “What was the victim’s cause of death?” was “She was shot.” Despite the chaotic prosecution, the defendant was ultimately found guilty and “sentenced to life imprisonment in the law library.” Listen to Michael Hillinger's oral history online.