2024 National Trial Team Newsletter!

Welcome to the quarterly Trial Team newsletter for Spring 2024!

It has been an amazing year for the Maryland Carey Law National Trial Team! Please take the time to read our updates and learn more about our successes over the last several months.

Hello Trial Team alumni, friends, and supporters!

It has been a remarkable season for the National Trial Team. We advanced to Nationals at AAJ and NTC in the same season for the first time since 2012, and also earned an invitation to Top Gun for the first time since 2012 - where we finished as semifinalists. We held the second annual Salsbury Trial Advocacy Tournament, naming Jacob Levin '26 as Best Advocate. We placed at several other tournaments across the country. And most importantly, we welcomed fourteen amazing students from the Class of 2024 into the Trial Team alumni community.

I could not be more excited for what comes next. We have eleven wonderful rising 3Ls and twelve brand 2Ls, and we are already hard at work preparing for this summer and beyond. There is no better feeling than watching a brand new team member start to grasp the nuance of cross examination or the power of a vivid opening statement, and I am confident the best is still ahead for these dedicated and talented students.

Thank you to every alumni coach who supported the team this past year by traveling, coaching, or judging a practice round. None of this would be possible without your support. If you are interested in getting involved through coaching or judging practices, email me at bengarmoe@law.umaryland.edu and we'll find the right place for you.

We have many exciting developments ahead for this fall and beyond, and I am hoping we will be hosting our NTC Regional again in 2025. Thank you for your continued support of the Trial Team, and as always - go Maryland!

Maryland Carey Law returns to Top Gun, finishes as semifinalist!

The National Trial Team competed at Baylor Law's Top Gun this year for the first time since 2012! Outgoing captains Rebecca Wells and Thomas Kiley traveled with Salsbury Director Ben Garmoe to compete at this elite, invitation-only tournament from May 29 - June 2, 2024, and finished as a National Semifinalist! Click below to learn more about Top Gun and read about the team's performance.

Trial Team wins multiple competitions and rises in the rankings!

This past season had some amazing results for the Trial Team, including bids to Nationals at both the TYLA National Trial Competition and the AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition! You can read more about those results and the Trial Team's rise in all three national ranking systems by clicking on the link below!

2024 Jerome E. Deise Medallion Ceremony

On Monday, May 13, 2024, our fourteen graduates were each honored by Director Garmoe and our coaches, and each graduate was presented with the Jerome E. Deise Medallion of Excellence. This medallion is named after Director Emeritus Jerome "Jerry" Deise, and each graduate receives this medallion to recognize them for their contributions to the Trial Team and to mark the end of their time on the team.

Pictured above, L-R: Amirah Loury, Alex Makar, Joe Dowdell, Aurie Serrette, Gus Glazov, Colin Miller, Thomas Kiley, Laura Milleker, Sydney Branch, Liz Alfonso, Alexis Smith, Becca Wells. Not pictured: Katherine Coyle and Anne Moruzzi.

National Trial Competition Regional returns to Baltimore

On February 9-11, 2024, Maryland Carey Law and the National Trial Team hosted Region 4 of the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) National Trial Competition! This prestigious tournament - often referred to as NTC - is the largest law school trial advocacy competition in the country. It has been several years since Maryland hosted our region, and we were thrilled to welcome 30+ alumni back to campus to judge, coach, and attend our Saturday evening reception.

In addition to hosting, Maryland sent a team to Nationals! Our NTC 1 team of Rebecca Wells '24 and Thomas Kiley '24, coached by Fiona Puglese '20 and Dylan Elliott '20, advanced to Nationals and competed at NTC Nationals in April. You can read more about that and other results at the "2023-24 Trial Team Results" link above.

Salsbury Director Ben Garmoe '16 presents an engraved gavel during the NTC Judges and Alumni reception to Director Emeritus Jerome "Jerry" Deise in recognition of his many years of service to the National Trial Team and the Maryland Carey Law community.

National Trial Team presents "State v. Spider Dude"

On February 15, 2024, students from George Washington Elementary came to Maryland Carey Law for the trial of "State v. Spider Dude" put on by members of the National Trial Team. This Marvel-themed case pitted Gunther "Doc Ock" Octavious against the defendant Spider Dude.

Participating members included Salsbury Director Ben Garmoe (Judge), Becca Wells '24 (Prosecutor), Gus Glazov '24 (Defense Attorney), Thomas Kiley '24 (Captain America), Millicent Sasu '25 (Dr. Gunther "Doc Ock" Octavious), Alex Tamayo '25 (Black Widow), Faith Kim '25 (Defendant Spider Dude), and Ashley Travis '25 (Bailiff).

Every newsletter will feature one of our fantastic team members!

We are thrilled to welcome Stephanie Schuessler ‘26 to the Trial Team! Stephanie was motivated to join the Trial Team because she hopes to be a litigator - possibly a public defender. Stephanie is also looking forward to the sense of community and travel that comes with being on the Trial Team.

Stephanie is not a traditional law student; she took 15 years off between undergrad and law school. She has two children and a pet ball python who she adopted last year. The python is 23 years old, and her name is Popcorn. (Stephanie's note: her kids chose Popcorn's name.)

A few weeks ago, we had a mini-Maryland reunion in Florida at the annual Educating Advocacy Teachers Conference (EATS) hosted by Stetson University College of Law. A.J. Bellido de Luna '04 (second from left), currently the Assistant Dean for Advocacy Programs and Hardy Service Professor of Law at St. Mary’s University School of Law, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as an advocacy instructor. A.J. formerly served as the Director of the National Trial Team, and he was introduced by Director Emeritus Jerome "Jerry" Deise, pictured second from right. AJ and Jerry were joined by Marnell Cooper '02, left, and Salsbury Director Ben Garmoe '16, right.