101st National Championship—Congratulations, Moot Court Board!
Please join me in congratulating Patricia Bishop, Jessica Faucher, and Kristina Lester on winning Stetson’s 101st national championship this weekend at the 25th Annual Leroy R. Hassell, Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition, at Regent University School of Law. In fact, in the last seven years, Stetson has won this competition FOUR times!
And that is not all, the team won the Best Petitioner’s Brief Award and Jessica received the Fourth Best Oralist Award in the preliminary rounds (out of a group of at least 75 advocates). And to do this, the team had to become experts on the Takings Clause and the United States Supreme Court case of Kelo v. City of New London, as well as the principle of stare decisis and other constitutional law issues. One of the judges in the final round, the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, mentioned that this was the most difficult moot court problem he had ever seen!
But we were prepared for the challenging questions! A special thanks goes out to Dean Barros, Professor Adams, Professor Boudreaux, Professor Hart, and Professor Jackson, for helping the team prepare. The team faced all the tough questions during the practice rounds and went to Virginia Beach with such confidence and poise! Congratulations to Patricia, Jessica, and Kristina!
And that is not all! In a regional a little closer to home, Mohammed Khan, Lily Shelton, and Avery Smith participated in the New York City Bar’s 75th Annual National Moot Court Competition, region IX. And that team brought home a Best Brief Award! Congratulations to Mohammed, Lily, and Avery.
Thank you to Professor Virelli and Darnesha Carter, Esq. who coached the NYC Bar National team and the professors, attorneys, and Moot Court Board members who helped the teams prepare! It takes a community to prepare for a moot court competition.
And students who entered this fall, if learning a little bit about Moot Court oral arguments sounds interesting to you, watch these Announcements over the holiday break, as we try to reschedule this year’s Chief Justice Oral Argument Competition.
Happy Thanksgiving and good luck with your exams!
Professor Bowman