Four students from Valparaiso University Law School competed in the John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition hosted by George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., on Feb. 2-5. The competition is limited to 24 teams and is designed to mimic a realistic courtroom environment. Participants are expected to defend their client in a criminal trial while revealing additional unknown facts and witnesses throughout the course of the proceedings.

Valparaiso University Law School was represented by four second-year students: Nadia Chivers, Christina Bradford, Benjamin Young and Matt Heiting. The team was coached by  Bryan Heidemann, as well as Professor Del Wright and Professor Trista Hudson.

The team faced the University of Richmond in the opening round, followed by Emory University in the second round. Despite excellent reviews from the judges, they did not advance to the final round of the competition.