Inside atrial round
A round is a whole trial run small. Both sides work from the same case packet — the same affidavits, the same exhibits, the same stipulated facts — and argue it in front of a judge who scores what happens in the room.
Order of proceedings
Opening statements.
Each side tells the court the story it means to prove and what the evidence will show — the prosecution or plaintiff first, then the defense. No argument yet and no evidence: just the map.Direct examination.
A side calls its own witness and questions them with open questions, letting the account come out of the witness rather than putting it to them.Cross-examination.
The other side then questions that witness with tight, leading questions and holds every answer to what the affidavit actually says. Direct and cross repeat for each witness: the prosecution or plaintiff's witnesses first, then the defense's.Closing arguments.
Each side argues what the evidence established, answers the other side's case, and asks the court for a specific finding. The side carrying the burden of proof usually has the last word, in a short rebuttal.
The packet, the bench and the clock
The packet. Every round is argued from a case packet published by the competition: the witness affidavits, the exhibits, a set of stipulated facts both sides accept, and the rules of evidence the round is run under. A team usually prepares both sides of the same case, since which side it argues can change from round to round.
The bench. The bench is usually a judge or a practising attorney. They preside — ruling on objections, keeping the round in order — and they score it: each opening, each examination, each witness and each closing is marked, and the side with more marks takes the ballot. Nothing turns on the merits of the case itself. A round is won on how well it was argued, not on whether the defendant did it.
The clock. Each side's time is limited and kept by its own timekeeper. How long each part may run, and how the score sheet is weighted, is set by the rules of the competition the round is argued under.
