By Ruthanne Bergt
TJSL’s Moot Court Honor Society held the annual Intra-Team Competition the weekend of August 25. This competition was the culmination of the Advanced Appellate Advocacy Workshop in which newly elected provisional members participated over the summer.
The workshop and Intra-Team competition help to give new members the skills that they need to succeed when representing TJSL in Moot Court competitions around the country.
The problem dealt with a death penalty conviction and potential ineffective assistance of counsel. Scores were determined by a weighted combination of the competitor’s appellate brief and oral arguments. The top eight finalists then advanced to a single-elimination tournament on Sunday.
The finalists were Cristina Kinsella, Crystal Salumbides, Emily Shank, Kimberly Roth, Paul Hefley, Shantelee Christie, Thomas Bollman, and Yvonne Ruiz. After three exciting rounds, Emily Shank won first place, Kimberly Roth came in a close second, and Yvonne Ruiz and Paul Hefley tied for third place.
This year will be a wonderful year for Moot Court! We have 12 seasoned returning competitors and 18 extremely talented new members! We will be sending 14 teams to compete in eight different competitions throughout the year including International Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure and Bankruptcy Law Competitions.
Introducing the 2012/2013 Moot Court Honor Society
Geoffrey Abram, Tomi Adeleke, CJ Akselrad, Jesse Allen, James Balch, RuthAnne Bergt, Thomas Bollman, Meghan Buckner, Xavier Carr, Shantelee Christie, Adrieannette Ciccone, Rodney Eales, Monique Eniero, Sevy Fisher, Evan Garcia, Danielle Gilbert, Katarzyna Grzechnik, Katie Hanes, Paul Hefley, Cristina Kinsella, Conrad Ohashi, Dublas Paniagua, Susy Prochazka, Kimberly Roth, Zac Ruetz, Yvonne Ruiz, Crystal Salumbides, Emily Shank, John Stauffer, David Vallero.
