Empire Announces 20th Anniversary Case File
Welcome to Twenty Seasons of Empire Mock Trial
It is my honor to welcome you to the 2026 Empire Mock Trial season.
Twenty seasons ago, my father, Gregory Pasquale Matarrese, filed the paperwork to start the nonprofit Empire Mock Trial. For the next six years, he became as much a fixture of Empire Mock Trial as our cases or courthouses, serving as judge, juror, but most importantly, dad.
My fondest memories of him include early morning courthouse arrivals in his Ford F-150 pickup truck filled to the brim with supplies and afternoons spent plating chicken “parm” and pasta for hundreds of students with an over-the-top intensity that was never necessary, but was so authentically him. In those early years, the man was a bit of a celebrity: the boisterous Italian father, clad in a button-down with rolled up sleeves and a tie, volunteering morning-to-night to help his son’s dorm room dream become a reality. He endeared himself to our students and coaches alike with his charm and work ethic.
As I reflect on Empire 20, one of the main lessons that I have taken from our journey together is how ordinary people are willing to do extraordinary things when they feel the power of community and purpose. That power has mobilized thousands of people from across the globe to donate their time, energy, resources, and expertise, all in service of our students. Over the next year, as we count down to our birthday, we will honor some of the special people who have been so instrumental to the Empire story–the people who have helped build Empire Mock Trial.
When I think back to my dad’s role in our founding—especially now as a father myself—I am so unbelievably touched. I cannot help but smile. For this milestone Empire season, there was no question who to name our case after—the man who was the first to exhibit the heroic spirit of volunteerism that would come to define Empire Mock Trial and who helped blaze the trail for all that followed.
Welcome to the 20th season of Empire Mock Trial.
Welcome to our 11th season of original cases.
Welcome to State v. Gregory.
I hope you enjoy this year’s case.
If this is your first time with us, welcome to the Empire Family. If you’re a veteran, welcome back! We cannot wait to celebrate this historic season with you.
Best,
Justin Matarrese
Founder & Board Chair
Empire Mock Trial
Welcome to State v. Gregory
From the Ballroom to the Courtroom
“The year’s highest honors return this summer! The spotlight comes alive… and Empirion’s biggest and brightest take center stage as The Leos return, hosted by Bryant Oscar!”
It’s June 15, 2025, and all of Empirion is full of anticipation. The Leo Awards Show is tonight. Hosted by the Empirion Entertainment Academy, the Leos honor excellence in the entertainment industry and contributions to the Empirial community. It is an honor to be invited to the Leos in any year.
But this is a special year.
The 2025 Leos are the award show’s 20th anniversary. So the hosts have pulled out all the stops to make this year’s event unforgettable.
And the venue is at the center of it all: The Empire Hotel in Downtown Pasquale.
7:00 a.m. Hundreds of celebrities, guests, staff, and crew pack the hotel. Millions more are waiting to watch from home. And inside the hotel’s Grand Ballroom, the set is alive. Crew members are running around, carrying cameras, microphones, and tripods. Everyone is preparing for what promises to be the biggest night in entertainment.
There’s just one problem.
The host isn’t there. Bryant Oscar is missing.
Bryant Oscar has made a name for themselves as one of Empirion’s star celebrities and late-night comedians. They have been at the hotel all week, and attending all rehearsals.
But on the morning of the show, they’ve vanished. Minutes go by, and concern turns to panic. When show staff and hotel staff check Oscar’s hotel room, they discover what looks like a crime scene – the room is a mess, furniture out of place, and it appears as though there was a fight. All of Oscar’s belongings are there. But Oscar is gone.
Police arrive and begin to investigate. There is no sign of Oscar anywhere in the hotel. And things only get worse when Leos staff receive a ransom note from an anonymous suspect demanding $2,000,000 in cryptocurrency for Oscar’s safe return. Friends and family quickly compile the money and comply with demand. The suspect provides a location where Oscar can be found at 6:30 p.m. – thirty minutes after the Leos were supposed to start. The show could not go on and was postponed to a later date.
That evening, police and show staff find Oscar bound and unconscious in the backseat of a self-driving taxi. Oscar is alive, but just barely. They are rushed to the hospital, and have been in a coma to this day.
Following the incident, the Pasquale Police Department opens an investigation to determine the identity of the kidnapper. After interviewing witnesses, collecting physical evidence, and analyzing forensic evidence, investigators identify Glen Gregory – Bryant Oscar’s longtime industry rival – as the primary suspect.
Now, the State of Empirion has filed criminal charges against Glen Gregory for kidnapping for ransom.
The Government’s Case: Getting Angry, Getting Even
For years, Glen Gregory and Bryant Oscar carried on one of the entertainment industry’s most public feuds. Oscar mocked Gregory relentlessly on their show, criticizing their career and fragile public image. Gregory responded through increasingly public complaints that Oscar had destroyed their reputation. As the Leos approached, the tension escalated.
The prosecution argues that Gregory reached a breaking point when they discovered that Oscar planned to target Gregory during the Leos broadcast. Only this time, Oscar was going to go far beyond the ordinary celebrity roast. Instead, they were going to expose a secret that Oscar couldn’t afford to let out. So Gregory stopped the show to stop the story.
The physical evidence is also compelling. Doctors determined that Oscar suffered a massive overdose of doxylamine succinate, an over-the-counter sleep medication – and Gregory was found with bottles of that same sleep medication. Gregory’s fingerprints and DNA were found near and inside Oscar’s room. And Gregory's cell phone location data places them in areas of Downtown Pasquale that are inconsistent with their statements to the police.
The prosecution is confident in their case. Taken together, the evidence tells one unmistakable story: Glen Gregory silenced the one comedian he could never outwit.
Glen Gregory’s Case: A Rush to Judgment
Glen Gregory has entered a plea of not guilty and asserted their constitutional right to a speedy and public jury trial. Now, it is up to a jury to determine whether Gregory kidnapped his longtime rival – or whether investigators reached the wrong conclusion.
Glen Gregory denies kidnapping Bryant Oscar. The defense does not dispute that Gregory and Oscar disliked one another. Their rivalry was public, bitter, and often personal. But the defense says investigators became fixated on Gregory almost immediately after learning of the public feud. Rather than inspecting the evidence objectively and neutrally, they allowed Gregory’s history with Oscar to infect the investigation.
The defense also challenges the accuracy of the prosecution's forensic evidence. Fingerprints establish Gregory was there – but not when or under what circumstances. Digital location information is imprecise and places Gregory only in areas where hundreds of guests and staff members had access. The toxicological findings reveal how Oscar became unconscious, but not who administered the medication. And there are no eyewitnesses who saw exactly how Oscar was taken from the hotel.
The defense argues that there is an innocent explanation for all of Gregory’s actions. But will it be enough for the jury to find reasonable doubt?
Pre-Trial Oral Argument: Digital Data and the Fourth Amendment
Long before the jury hears any testimony about Bryant Oscar’s disappearance, the court must decide whether the police lawfully obtained one of the prosecution’s most significant pieces of evidence – or whether they violated Glen Gregory’s Fourth Amendment rights in doing so.
Following Oscar’s disappearance, Detective Rumancik searched Gregory’s room at the Empire Hotel. Because Gregory’s stay had ended, hotel management gave the detective permission to enter the room. Inside, the officer discovered Gregory’s laptop computer displaying an AI chatbot researching the “strongest over the counter sedative.” The top result: doxylamine succinate – the same drug allegedly used to incapacitate Bryant Oscar.
The Fourth Amendment guarantees, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…” This right limits the power of the police to seize and search people, their property, and their homes. Historically, this was a response to the British monarchy’s use of “general warrants” to investigate political enemies, break into the homes of the King’s critics, and arrest them without probable cause that they had committed a crime.
Here, the prosecution argues that the search was lawful. Because Gregory’s rental period had expired, the hotel had regained control of the room and possessed authority to consent to law enforcement’s entry. Once inside, officers merely observed information that was exposed in plain view. Moreover, the prosecution contends that Gregory voluntarily shared these communications with the third-party artificial intelligence provider, eliminating any reasonable expectation of privacy under longstanding Fourth Amendment principles.
The defense disagrees. Gregory argues that while hotel management could authorize officers to enter the room, it could not consent to a search of the private contents of his personal computer. Worse yet, investigators exceeded the scope of the plain-view doctrine when they manipulated the laptop by scrolling through additional messages without first obtaining a warrant. Gregory further argues that conversations with artificial intelligence platforms are entitled to constitutional protection and should not lose their privacy simply because they are processed through a third-party service.
The Court must determine whether the detective’s actions fell within the recognized exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement or whether Gregory’s constitutional rights were violated. That decision will certainly impact both parties’ cases – and likely the jury’s verdict.
Why This Case: Foundations of Law, Fundamental Rights
We are honored to write Empire’s case file in any year. But this is a very special year. Empire Mock Trial was founded in 2007. That makes this the competition’s 20th anniversary. Similarly, Empire began writing its own cases in 2016. That makes this Empire’s 10th year of original casewriting. To honor these monumental milestones, this year’s case pays homage to Empire’s history.
As our nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, State v. Gregory invites students to reflect on the enduring principles that have shaped American democracy since its founding. The Framers enshrined constitutional protections not for the easy cases, but for the difficult ones – when public outrage is intense, when the evidence appears compelling, and where the pressure to secure a conviction is at its greatest. Yet the Constitution endures because its guarantees are designed to withstand changing times and advancing technology.
In an age where personal thoughts, questions, and conversations increasingly occur through digital devices and artificial intelligence, we invite students to consider how the individual protections guaranteed in our constitution hundreds of years ago should apply today. We also challenge students to think critically about the delicate balance between law enforcement needs and individual liberties, while recognizing that preserving constitutional rights remains one of the defining responsibilities of every generation.
We hope you enjoy State v. Gregory!
Nicholas Cotter
2026 Case Committee Chair