Saile Aranda
Assistant Editor
Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s Mock Trial Organization at Palo Alto College’s courtroom closed out the Spring 2025 semester with a scrimmage on the State of Midlands v. Dakota Sutcliffe case.
Scrimmages mimic a competition setting for students to practice in. The MTO plans to compete at the American Mock Trial Association — a non-profit organization that hosts intercollegiate tournaments nationwide.
The students covered a Supreme Court case about bar owner Dakota Sutcliffe, who was charged with murder and aggravated arson by the State of Midlands after her business, Chuggies Bar, was set on fire and resulted in a local firefighter’s death, August 15, 2021.
Members of the MTO served as prosecutors, as well as defense and witnesses. Civil Litigation Lawyer, Alex Katzman, presided over the trial as the judge in the courtroom.
Katzman has been an attorney for 32 years. He said he was impressed by the professional performance of the students.
“I thought they were excellent, they had confidence, they were clearly very prepared, they knew the material and were familiar with the rules of evidence,” Katzman said.
President of the MTO, Victoria Quintanilla, played a defense attorney for Sutcliffe alongside communications senior Parker Foreman and political science senior Alizah Garza, in which they were tasked to prove Sutcliffe’s innocence.
MTO members, Daniela Euresti and Jerilyn Thomas acted as prosecution attorneys, in which their roles had to prove Sutcliffe guilty.
Quintanilla talked about her experience performing at the scrimmage in a courtroom and the feelings that come along with it as someone who has been participating since high school.
“When I’m in a courtroom, I kind of transition into an attorney,” Quintanilla said. “It just makes me go into that mindset; I’m a lot less nervous.”
Before the team stepped foot in the courtroom the MTO gathered once a week for three months to study the Midlands v. Sutcliffe case for two hours leading up to the day of the scrimmage.
Katzman talked about the “most important” strategies when presenting a case — knowing the facts, evidence and material, but also knowing the procedure and rules so the attorneys are able to present a case with a strong foundation to persuade the court.
Katzman advises students pursuing law studies to reach out to programs outside of A&M-San Antonio such as the San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association, a non-profit organization for trial lawyers who are actively looking for groups to mentor. He said students can sit in the courtroom, watch trials or find an internship or volunteer at SATLA.
“If you had told me this was a mock trial team from law school, I wouldn’t have blinked,” Katzman said. “That’s why I’m so impressed at the college level for a brand new group. They just blew me away with their aplomb, skill set and confidence.”
Katzman believes there is a “winning formula” in the MTO organization.
Foreman said participating in the scrimmage was a lot of fun. He also said he felt more confident and prepared compared to the first scrimmage the MTO hosted at A&M-San Antonio.
“It was very educational. I want to go into law school and train to be an attorney and I feel like that is a valuable training to have,” said Foreman. “Especially in law school because they don’t teach you how to be a lawyer, they teach you the law, statutes and case law. That’s why I think this experience is so valuable.”
Foreman joined without previous experience and said everyone was helpful and willing to lend their own mock trial knowledge.
Garza noticed a difference between the first scrimmage — which took place in a classroom — and the second being held in a courtroom. She said she had to polish her public speaking, maintaining her confidence and attention before delivering a grand performance.
“You kind of had to embody that role in the moment once you were in the [court]room,” Garza said.
A mock courtroom at A&M-San Antonio is something Quintanilla looks forward to in the future. She says these practices are helpful for students who want to pursue law school.
“Everybody did great,” said Quintanilla. “I think this is a great start to something that will hopefully be potentially big at TAMUSA.”
