Moot Court Team Successes
Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Team are Champions
Loyola's Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Team became the champions of the inaugural DePaul University College of Law National Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Competition! Loyola's team argued five rounds over two days and dominated a strong field, earning high praise from the distinguished judges in the final round: Judges William Bauer and Richard Cudahy of the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, and Warren Wolfson, former Illinois appellate court judge and Dean of the DePaul College of Law. The competition was sponsored by DePaul and the Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation; and took place at the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse in Chicago. The team is composed of David Vicknair (oralist), Geoff Sweeney (oralist), Daniel Shanks (oralist/brief writer), and coached by Lindsey Surratt and faculty advisor, Dr. Derek Fincham. This victory represents Loyola Moot Court's second competition victory in as many months. The Loyola Moot Court Program won the National Mardi Gras Sports and Entertainment Law Competition and was a Semifinalist in the National Environmental Law Competition earlier in 2010.
Environmental Law Moot Court Team Made Its Mark
Congratulations to Loyola University New Orleans College of Law students Caitlin Byars (oralist), Lindsey Crow (oralist/brief writer), Steven Lord (oralist), and Kelly Stein (coach) for their recent successes at the 21st annual Pace Environmental Law Moot Court Competition in White Plains, New York. In a competition with over eighty other teams from across the country, Loyola's Environmental Moot Court team made its mark. Both Caitlin Byars and Lindsey Crow were named best oralists in two of the three preliminary rounds in which the team argued. Additionally, the team brief was chosen as the Best Appellant Brief among all of the competing schools. As a result of Loyola’s success and because the competition is recognized as the "preeminent environmental law moot" in the United States, the Loyola brief will be published in the Pace Environmental Law Journal next fall. Congratulations to the team and coach for an outstanding job.
First Amendment Moot Court Team Advances to Semifinals
On February 19, 2010, Loyola College of Law's Moot Court team reached the semifinals in the 20th Annual First Amendment Moot Court Competition hosted by Vanderbilt University School of Law and the First Amendment Center. The competition hosted 36 teams representing law schools from across the nation including Georgetown, Duke, Brooklyn, and San Diego School of Law. The team, comprised of second year law students, Desmonde Bennett, Evan Bergeron, and coached by third year student, Nicole Stillwell, competed in eight rounds over two days. The team reached the final four, being eliminated by the team from San Diego School of Law, who won in the final round. Throughout the competition, the Loyola team received praise for their unique and persuasive arguments. This year’s First Amendment Moot Court Competition problem examined one of the most pressing issues in modern First Amendment jurisprudence — the phenomenon of free-speech zones. The problem forced competitors to grapple with a city’s "protest policy” that created a free speech zone at a health-care town hall meeting. The student-competitors addressed not only the zoning of speech and governmental motivation, but also the core free-speech principles of viewpoint discrimination and secondary effects. Semi-final and final-round judges in the competition included members of the federal judiciary, Steven M. Colloton, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; Martha Craig Daughtrey, Julia Smith Gibbons, and Gilbert S. Merritt, Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Sidney Fitzwater, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas; William J. Haynes Jr., Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee; James C. Mahan, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada; Susan Webber Wright, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas; and Marian F. Harrison, Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Joining them from the state judiciary was Camille McMullen, Judge of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.
Mardi Gras Moot Court Team placed First Overall in the 15th annual Mardi Gras Moot Court Competition
Loyola University College of Law’s Mardi Gras Moot Court Team placed First Overall in the 15th annual Mardi Gras Moot Court Competition recently hosted by Tulane Law School. The Mardi Gras Competition is an appellate advocacy tournament involving novel issues of Sports & Entertainment Law. This year’s competition featured 40 law schools from around the country and presented a hypothetical that mirrored the ongoing NFL StarCaps case. Loyola’s Mardi Gras Team posted one of the highest brief scores of the competition and achieved a perfect 7-0 record in advancing to the Final Round. In addition, esteemed oralist Elissa Blache was awarded Best Oralist of the entire competition. The invitational’s first five rounds were held on February 10 and 11 at the Eastern District Courthouse, while the semifinal and final rounds on February 12 were conducted at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Final Round featured a panel of six judges including Richard House, general counsel for the New Orleans Hornets, and Andrew Brandt, former vice president of the Green Bay Packers and founder of the National Football Post newsletter and website. Special congratulations to the team's coach, Jordan Jeansonne, and to the members of the team, oralists Elissa Blache and Matthew Cutrer, and brief writer Tiffany Tate. The Loyola law community is very proud of the coach and the team.
Moot Court Students Placed Second Overall in Information Technology and Privacy Law Competition
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law students, Megan Peterson, Tyler Rench, and Kelly Stein (coach) recently competed in the John Marshall Law School Moot Court Competition in Information Technology and Privacy Law in Chicago, Illinois. The team competed against 32 other teams from across the United States, as well as several International teams. Arguing in six rounds over three days, Ms. Peterson and Mr. Rench argued in front of distinguished professors and practitioners, federal district and appellate judges, and Chief Justices from several state supreme courts. In the final round of the competition, Loyola placed second overall. In addition, before arriving to Chicago, the team submitted a brief to be preliminarily graded. Loyola’s brief scored the highest amongst all 33 briefs, and was recognized formally as the Best Petitioner’s Brief. Because of its success, Loyola’s brief will be published in John Marshall’s Information Technology and Privacy Law Journal. Congratulations to the team for all of their hard work and success!
National moot court team advances to final four competition
Great News!! The National Moot Court Team advanced to the FINAL FOUR out of 189 teams participating. Unfortunately, they did not advance against Chicago Kent to the final round. Thank you to all of you for your help in mooting them and giving them the confidence to reach their potential! We should be very proud of Chris Otten, Rick Brown, Katie May, and Leigh Anne Gilchrist. As you can see, while we did not advance further, we did a MAGNIFICENT job.
Bankruptcy Moot Court Team competed in National Bankruptcy Competition
The Bankruptcy Moot Court Team competed at the 17th Annual Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Memorial Moot Court Competition at St. Johns Law School in New York were they finished in the Top 16 out of 48 national moot court programs. Their brief was also recognized at the Awards Banquet in New York as one of the Top 5 in the competition, and the only Petitioner brief among those top 5. The team is composed of Patrick Cole (coach), Anthony Bayers (Brief Writer) and Lindsey Surrat and Josh Phanco (oralists).
Information, Technology and Privacy Law Moot Court Team
Information, Technology and Privacy Law Moot Court Team, comprised of Sarah Broussard (Coach), Kelly Stein (Oralist), Adam Bosso (Oralist), and Jordan Jeansonne (Brief Writer), competed in the John Marshall Law School International Moot Court Competition in Information Technology and Privacy Law, hosted in Chicago, Illinois, and finished in the Top 12 out of 27 Teams competing from around the world.
Mardi Gras Sports and Entertainment Law Moot Court Team
Mardi Gras Sports and Entertainment Law Moot Court Team, comprised of Patrick Cole (Coach), Byron Arthur and Arielle McConduit (Oralist), and Meg Alsfeld (Brief Writer), competed in the Tulane Mardi Gras Moot Court Competition, and finished in the Top 8 out of 45 Teams competition. Meg Alsfeld’s Brief was recognized as one of the Top 5 in the competition, and won the award for Best Respondent Brief. Please join with me in congratulating the team for a job well done.
Criminal Procedure Moot Court Team Placed First Overall
Loyola University College of Law's Criminal Procedure Moot Court Team placed First Overall in the 22nd Annual National Criminal Procedure Tournament hosted by the University of San Diego School of Law. This years competition featured 46 teams from 31 different law schools around the country and presented a hypothetical involving the Fourth Amendment, as it relates to searches and seizures, and the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The Tournament's first four preliminary rounds were held on October 28 and 29 at the Hall of Justice, while the octo-final, semi-final and final rounds on October 30 were conducted at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. The Final Round featured a panel of three judges including The Honorable Richard Huffman from the Fourth District of the California Court of Appeal, Karen Hewitt, an experienced trial lawyer and Partner at Jones Day, and Professor Donald Dripps, a recognized scholar of criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, and administrative law at the University of San Diego School of Law. Please join me in congratulating the extraordinary members of this team: Brief Writer/Oralist Aaron Hurd, Oralist Jeffrey Briscoe, and their Coach, Elissa Blache.