The Trial Team for FIU College of Law has returned from Tampa triumphantly after winning the premier statewide Mock Trial Tournament – the Chester Bedell Memorial Mock Trial Championship. Participating in the competition were 18 teams from 9 Florida law schools.
Our championship team was comprised of 3Ls Alexa Hernandez, who was voted Best Advocate, and Ben Sly and 2Ls Scott Paula, Sydney Ross and Lucian Pita. These five students battled through five tough trials over three days, defeating Jacksonville, Barry’s #1 team, Barry’s #2 team, Stetson’s #2 team, and Stetson’s #1 team.
FIU’s second dynamic team consisted of 3Ls Michael Leatherman, Gabriella Nunez, Amanda Casalis and 2Ls Cassandra Zamor and Louis Candiotti. They also performed extremely well over two days fighting hard against Stetson and UM.
The case file for this year’s competition featured a wrongful death claim brought against a school system accused of negligence where an 8-year student was struck by a car and killed after being dropped off at a bus stop. The lawsuit alleged that the school allowed a physical education teacher who did not have a chauffeur’s license nor any training in driving a school bus to drive the children home from school that day. The driver let the children out on the wrong side of the street. The 8-year-old student was struck and killed by a driver while trying to cross 6 lanes of traffic. The school system claimed that the accident was the fault of the driver of the car who struck and killed the student because he was speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, not paying attention to the roadway, and talking on his cell phone at the time of the accident.
Professor H.T. Smith said, “Spectacular accomplishment is never preceded by less than spectacular preparation. This is a spectacular victory for the students and coaches on our Bedell trial team. Our students and coaches just refused to be outworked – and refused to lose. They represented our school in the highest tradition of professionalism and class and enhanced the reputation of FIU College of Law.”
The Bedell team worked tirelessly, on weekdays and weekends, through the winter holiday break, to create powerful stories that would persuade judges and jurors. The team was masterfully coached by Trial Team alumni Justin Duran (J.D. ’18)
and Forrest Wilson (J.D. ‘23). Trial Team alumni and Adjunct Professor Ari Goldberg (J.D. ’12) created the storyboard for the trials. Also, contributing to the success of the team were Trial Team Alumni Igor Hernandez (J.D. ‘13), Elroy John (J.D. ‘17), Alexander Pollock (J.D. ‘23), Naomi Eid (J.D. ‘25), Evan Thomas (J.D. ‘23), TerryAnn Howell (J.D. ’14), and Alejandro Gonzalez (J.D. ’25); Trial Team Alumni and Adjunct Professor Anthony Hevia (J.D. ‘07), Adjunct Professor Abbe Rifkin, distinguished Trial Attorneys Todd Michaels and Christopher Lomax, and, as always, Professor H.T. Smith, Founding Director of our Trial Advocacy Program.
Considered the Super Bowl of Florida mock trial competitions, Bedell is sponsored by the Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar and attracts the State’s powerhouse trial teams.
FIU was the Bedell champion in 2016, 2022, and now in 2026 - and runner-up in 2023.