Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Mock Trial is a beloved theatrical tradition. This year, the play it was based on was Shakespeare’s Othello, to open on May 19, directed by Simon Godwin. The atmosphere was congenial, the repartee dizzyingly droll. And, as always, hilarity ruled. There were a va riety of topics: The little-known fact that Othello was a germophobe. Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl lyrics. Blocking your parents on Instagram. And, of course, Taylor Swift, whose songs appear, it seems, every year. There were references to “Shake It Off,” “All Too Well,” and, of course: When the words of a sister come back in whispers/That prove she was not/In fact what she seemed, not a twin from your dreams/She’s a crook who was caught.—Bardess Taylor Swiftspeare, “No Body, No Crime”  Co-Counsel Erin Morgan, Advocate Karen L. Dunn, and Co-Counsel Alyssa Negvesky participate in STC’s 2026 Mock Trial. Photo by Kevin Allen. Other, more controversial subjects included a proposed DC ballroom, sitting for 11 interviews, and Project 1565. Our urbane Moderator, Abbe David Lowell, STC Board of Trustees Vice Chair and Chair of the Bard Association, introduced the Tribunale Civile Di Venezia (Civil Court of Venice): Judge Amy Berman Jackson, United States District Judge, United StatesDistrict Court for the District of Columbia; Chief Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg, United States District Court for the District of Columbia; Chief Judge Matthew William Brann, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; Judge Patricia Millett, United States Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia Circuit; Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman, United States District Courtfor the District of Columbia; and Marshal for the Court, Former Marshal of the Supreme Court of the United States, Marshal Pamela Talkin. Counsel for the Estate of Emilia, Petitioner/Cross-Respondent, was Stephen Vladeck, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Federal Courts at Georgetown Law and author of The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic (2023). Counsel for the Estate of Desdemona, Respondent/Cross-Petitioner, was Karen L. Dunn, former partner at Paul Weiss, now founding partner of Dunn Isaacson Rhee LLP. On Emilia’s appeal, the questions presented were:  1. Should the trial court’s judgment finding Emilia not liable for Desdemona’s wrongful death be reversed for failure to apply the applicable causation standard?  2. Should the trial court’s judgment finding Emilia secondarily liable for aiding and abetting Desdemona’s wrongful death be reversed? The story is well known. The acclaimed warrior Othello, a Moor, has married the exquisite young Venetian, Desdemona. The envious Iago, hoping to elicit Othello’s jealousy, asks his wife Emilia (Desdemona’s lady-in-waiting) for an unusual favor: take Desdemona’s handkerchief. Iago plans to place it in the room of the handsome Cassio. Emilia, knowing nothing of Iago’s dastardly scheme, agrees.  As the trial begins, the distraught Othello, believing his wife unfaithful, has killed Desdemona. After learning of her innocence from Emilia, Othello has killed himself in remorse. Iago, furious at Emilia’s betrayal, has killed her too.  The trial court held Emilia liable for aiding and abetting the crime, but not for wrongful death. Emilia now appeals. Vladeck began (I can’t imagine why) by attacking the “audacity” of Desdemona’s suit, asserting that he was “surprised they didn’t serve in Amarillo,” a division known for forum shopping. This is the practice in which an attorney looks for a judge who will deliver a favorable verdict for their client, possibly fostering a policy they are attempting to promote. Emilia, to his mind, could not have foreseen to what use Iago would put the handkerchief. Nor, having heard that Othello was a great guy, could she have anticipated his rage. Vladeck noted in his brief that Emilia’s role in Desdemona’s death was tangential and the handkerchief was “much ado about nothing.” Judge Amy Berman Jackson, in a strangely familiar outburst, retorted by proclaiming shrilly how well the Dow is doing and referring to him as “washed up,” “a loser,” and “not even a lawyer.” Later she donned some very attractive U.S. Attorney General–style red lips. Judge Patricia Millett inquired, “Why didn’t Emilia sell her story and turn it into a one-star documentary like you know who?” Chief Judge James “Jeb” Boas reminded us that a hand or a pillow (like the MyPillow it is believed Othello used to kill Desdemona) can in some cases become a deadly weapon, much like a sandwich. In response to the argument that Emilia knew nothing of Iago’s plot, Judge Millett averred that Iago told Emilia during a “Signal chat.” Dunn graciously thanked opposing counsel Vladeck for “mansplaining,” adding, “We super appreciate it She referenced the hallowed “Girl Code” according to which Emilia had a “ride or die” (duty of care) friendship with Desdemona, which should have overruled all other considerations. In her brief, Dunn declared that Emilia’s theft of the handkerchief was a “substantial factor” in Desdemona’s death, citing Estate of King Duncan v. Estate of Lady Macbeth, 22 Scot. 911, 913 (Q.C.N. 1623) (Lady Macbeth liable for the death of King Duncan despite other factors and causes), In Re Butterfly Effect Litigation, 573 F. Supp. 132,145 (I.D.K. 1972) (Butterfly that flapped its wings liable for the ensuing tsunami it catalyzed across the world), and Menelaus v. Paris, 12 Iliad 100, 101 (B.C.E., 1200) (holding Helen of Troy liable for the siege of Troy, since it was her face that launched a thousand ships). Chief Judge Matthew William Brann, in a refreshing display of non-mansplaining, inquired plaintively if someone could explain the “Girl Code” to him. Dunn remarked that although in 1565 women did not have control over their own bodies, “The Girl Code always applies.” In a surprising move, Judge Paul L. Friedman showed mercy not for a defendant but for the attorney appearing before him. “You look tired,” he stated to Vladeck. “Would you like us to hold you in contempt?”  TOP: Judge Amy Berman Jackson, Chief Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg, Judge Patricia Millett, Chief Judge Matthew William Brann, and Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman in STC’s 2026 Mock Trial; ABOVE: Actor Craig Wallace, Pamela Talkin, and Abbe David Lowell at STC’s 2026 Mock Trial. Photos by Kevin Allen. As we the jury (the audience) voted, our host Abbe Lowell held a discussion with our Special Guest, actor, director and teaching artist Craig Wallace. (He will understudy Wendell Pierce’s Othello in the STC production.) Wallace, one of DC’s most respected and popular actors, recalled fondly playing Nicely-Nicely Johnson from Guys and Dolls in high school. In a role such as Othello, he focuses on how the play unfolds. For him, the emphasis is on truth. Othello is seen to be Other, which makes him vulnerable and insecure. The audience must sympathize with Othello. That is the actor’s challenge. The audience, and a majority of the Court, found that Emilia had no role in Desdemona’s death. The evening was, as always, an overwhelming success. STC’s Mock Trial reminds us of the affinities between theater and the law. An attorney before the court is like an actor. Both professions deal with the resolution of conflict. And both are rooted, inevitably, in the meaning of language.  The Shakespeare Theater Company’s 37th Mock Trial presented by the Shakespeare Theatre Company Bard Association was convened on February 17, 2025, in STC’s Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St NW, Washington, DC, and live-streamed. The program, including the Mock Trial Scenario, is online here. Othello plays from May 19 to June 21, 2026, in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall, 610 F St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets start at $35. For more information and tickets, call the Box Office at 202.547.1122, go online, or visit TodayTix. The post The estates of Emilia and Desdemona duke it out in STC’s 2026 Mock Trial  appeared first on DC Theater Arts. ...read more read less