Registration for the Sixteenth Annual John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition has closed. The competition will feature 28 teams from across the country. All are welcome to attend and spectate.<\/p>\n
A discounted group rate has been secured at the Hilton Garden Inn in Arlington<\/strong>, conveniently located steps away from the Courthouse Metro Station and just one or two quick stops from campus (depending on which stop you get off at). This location provides easy access to George Mason University and surrounding areas.<\/span><\/p>\n Rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and we encourage you to book early. The rate is available for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If any teams need to stay in the hotel on Sunday, please let us know and I can work with the hotel to get the group rate extended.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Hotel Block Booking Link:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.hilton.com\/en\/ Deep within the treacherous Drummond Swamp, a university\u2019s championship aspirations collide with a chilling act of violence in the case of <\/span>State of Masonia v. Elliott Brohm<\/span><\/i><\/span>. <\/span>This year\u2019s Costello problem invites advocates to unravel a complex narrative of jealousy, journalistic integrity, and collegiate life<\/span><\/span>. <\/span>When star lacrosse captain Blake Morgan is found murdered following a secret, rule-breaking team party, the investigation centers on Elliott Brohm, an ambitious student reporter whose obsession with a career-making headline\u2014and his ex-girlfriend\u2014may have crossed a lethal line<\/span><\/span>. <\/span>As the specter of a legendary serial killer haunts the courtroom and forensic evidence clashes with circumstantial evidence, teams will have to argue whether Brohm is a calculated killer or merely a convenient scapegoat caught in the wrong place at the worst possible time<\/span><\/span>. Prepare for a trial where the truth is as murky as the swamp itself.<\/span><\/p>\n The problem this year was sent to all teams on January 1, 2026<\/strong>. Please click here to access the Google Drive containing the problem.<\/a> Any additional evidence will be posted in that Google Drive.<\/p>\n The Costello Competition is uniquely designed by Judge Jonathan Thacher to take participants outside the typical realms of law school competitions. By revealing unknown facts and witnesses as the competition progresses, the Costello Competition simulates the evolving and unexpected nature of real-life criminal trials. This dynamic design provides competitors with a realistic experience as counsel in a criminal trial and an exciting take on trial advocacy. All competition judges are local judges and practitioners, making the competition as realistic as possible. Competitors will use the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.<\/p>\n Competing schools will be permitted to send at least one team to the Costello Competition. Competitors are side-restricted and teams must consist of only two competitors<\/strong>. Competing schools must also provide\u00a0one witness per team<\/strong>. Scalia Law Trial Ad will provide all judges and remaining witnesses for the competition. If, for whatever reason, all available slots do not fill up, then schools will be able to register additional teams on a first-come first-serve basis. The application to register for Costello Competition was posted on October 26, 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n For any additional questions or information, please contact Michael Loftus at gmusl.trialad@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2026 Costello Competition will be held February 13-15, 2026 Registration for the Sixteenth Annual John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition has closed. The competition will feature 28 teams from across the country. All are welcome to attend and spectate. Venue Information and Schedule The competition will take place on February 13-15, … Continue reading “John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sls.gmu.edu\/trialad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sls.gmu.edu\/trialad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sls.gmu.edu\/trialad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sls.gmu.edu\/trialad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sls.gmu.edu\/trialad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sls.gmu.edu\/trialad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sls.gmu.edu\/trialad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Problem<\/h2>\n
General Information about the Costello Competition<\/h2>\n