Leadership at Franklin & Marshall College takes many forms — but it always begins with action. For Richardson “Richie” Dockery ’26, a government major and psychology minor, this meant transforming academic theory into tangible achievement as captain of F&M Mock Trial. After triumphing at the 2026 Penn State Mock Trial regional tournament, the championship team is advancing to the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Opening Round Championship Series in Hamilton, Ohio, March 13-15.

“This is our second-straight mock trial championship at the 2026 Penn State Regional tournament,” Dockery said. “As a result, we have qualified for the national championship.”

The team defeated Kent State (2-0), Lafayette College (3-1) and tied with Penn State (1-1) in the Feb. 14-15 mock trial tournament at Penn State in State College.  

Now, the Diplomats will face Princeton University, Duke University, Cornell University, Penn State, and other top-performing colleges and universities. 

"The caliber of the opponents we’re going up against include Ivy League institutions and major research universities," Dockery said. 

Unlike those institutions, many of which have endowed mock trial programs that offer scholarships to incoming members, F&M’s Mock Trial team is a high-caliber, student-led club organization. 

"In that respect, we are David versus Goliath," Dockery said. "Nobody predicts us to do this well; and yet, here we are."

F&M Mock Trial epitomizes the College’s commitment to learning by doing. In mock trials, students receive a case (criminal or civil; this year’s iteration is criminal) totaling more than 250 pages and including affidavits, sworn statements, interrogations, medical reports, and exhibits. The cases comprise the same materials an attorney prepping for an actual trial would use. 

"They prepare a theory of what happened, based on the material they're given," said Mike Vitlip, Director of Legal & Government Professions Advising and F&M Mock Trial Adviser. "They present and argue the case, questioning witnesses, cross examining other teams' witnesses, giving opening statements and closing arguments — doing all the different parts of a real-life trial in front of a panel of judges."

If F&M's team wins the AMTA Opening Round Championship Series this weekend, they advance to the National Championship on April 17-19, hosted by George Washington University and Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

"If we imagine the tournament structure like basketball’s March Madness, Penn State was the conference championship and the Miami University Tournament is the first round," Dockery said. "There's a forum that competitors in college use, impeachments.org, and they were doing projections, like a sports analyst would. For our tournament at State College, they had the shoo-ins, Princeton and I believe Penn State. We weren't even in the mix. Nobody predicted us to do this well." 

This victory is just the latest in a tradition of excellence for F&M Mock Trial.

"The team has made it to this level of competition four times since I've joined F&M in 2019," Vitlip said.

Meet the Championship Team

• Salvador “Sal” Avelar ’27 of Hialeah, Fla.
• Ibrahim Bin Amjad ’27 of Lahore, Pakistan
• Eddie Chisholm ’27 of Columbia Falls, Mont.
• Aashi Dadhania ’27 of Hainesport, N.J. 
• Albert “AJ” DeNovellis ’29 of Vineland, N.J.
• Nico DiPinto ’29 of Collingswood, N.J.
• Richie Dockery ’26 of Los Angeles
• Sydney Johnson ’27 of San Mateo, Calif.
• Belle Jolly ’26 of Newtown Square, Pa.
• Jacob Port ’27 of New Hope, Pa.
• Leonardo “Leo” Puntoni ’28 of Philadelphia
• Anne “Neola” Trainor ’27 of Pennington, N.J.