Congratulations to Our Orseck Team!
Please join me in congratulating our Orseck Moot Court team—Elizabeth Campbell, Mariana Monforte, and Benjamin Russell—on their performance at the 51st Annual Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition this week. The team argued two issues: one issue involved whether attorney-client privilege could be waived, and the other issue involved the interpretation of the phrase “other medium” in Florida Statute 770.01. Two very complex issues.
Before I tell you the results, a little more information is needed about this competition.
The Orseck competition takes place at the annual Florida Bar conference. And because of that, actual sitting judges from the trial courts and the district courts of appeal (DCA) join with attorneys to judge the preliminary, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds. In fact, this year, there were DCA judges judging the very first preliminary round that the Stetson team argued in. And if that were not enough, one of the issues involved a certified conflict between the DCAs, and in one round, the judges from those specific courts were all represented on the same panel. (Great argument, Ben!)
Continuing on: And if a team advances to the final round, the advocates get an opportunity to argue in front of the justices of the Florida Supreme Court. An opportunity that very few Florida attorneys ever have an opportunity to do. Side note: In the 29 years that Stetson has participated in the competition, a Stetson team has been in the finals 19 times.
Now back to the announcement:
After preliminary rounds against Miami, FSU, and FIU, and a quarterfinal round against FAMU, and a semifinal round against Nova, our Stetson team faced off against Miami again (on opposite sides) for the final round. And the result?
The Stetson team WON the competition (Elizabeth and Mariana argued in the final round). This is the seventh time that Stetson has won the competition. AND there is more! The Justices of the Florida Supreme Court awarded Elizabeth the Best Oralist, Final Round. This is the eighth time that a Stetson advocate has won this award.
Congratulations, Elizabeth, Mariana, and Ben!
Go Stetson!
Professor Bowman