Moot Court wins top marks in competition
By: Coorey Robinson
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: News
The SFA Moot Court competitors traveled to Texas Wesleyan School of Law in Ft. Worth recently and returned with impressive results.
All SFA competitors finished in the top 20 on individual speaker's award points, with three students receiveing speaker's awards for placing in the top 10.
Individually, LaToya Harridon, Kingston, Jamaica, senior, took second place in speaker's points. Brent Higgins, Port Neches junior, placed third, and Ashley Pulliam, Dallas junior, placed seventh.
In team competition, the team of Harridon and Pulliam were finalists and took second place in the tournament. Higgins and Pesa advanced to the field of eight, where they were eliminated by the eventual winner of the tournament, a team from UNT.
The SFA contingent, consisting of four and a half teams, competed in a field of 80 competitors from nine Texas schools and one from Arkansas. SFA brought home eight trophies from the event.
The Moot Court is a fictitious court held in law schools to argue hypothetical cases, especially at the appellate level. And while fictitious, to some, can mean unnecessary, it is good practice for the students who plan on careers in politics and law.
SFA officials nominate two Moot Court members annually to receive a Presidential Scholarship to any of the law schools hosting a tournament.
Dr. Karren Price, assistant professor in the criminal justice department, is the current adviser to the group, and said that she is proud of the results the SFA team kachieved.
"Overall, they've exceeded what I've expected," she said.
In May of each year, Moot Court teams receive a case problem with the court cases listed which may be used in addressing the pertinent issues.
The problem is always one of constitutional law, and the individual teams of two must prepare an appellate argument for both sides. The team members do not know until 5 to 10 minutes prior to argument which side they will present, so they must know the cases and the record intimately.
For those pursuing a career in law, Price said, "Even if you don't receive a top award, your participation in the program can make the difference in your acceptance to law school."
She said she's seen it happen at SFA. Alumni Daniel Keesee and Rachel Nichols have both been accepted to law school programs at Baylor and Texas Tech with the help of the Moot Court program.
Tryouts will begin in sometime in April for those interested. More notice will be posted after Spring Break. For more information, contact Price in Room 416 in the Language Arts North Building.
crobinson@thepinelog.com
All SFA competitors finished in the top 20 on individual speaker's award points, with three students receiveing speaker's awards for placing in the top 10.
Individually, LaToya Harridon, Kingston, Jamaica, senior, took second place in speaker's points. Brent Higgins, Port Neches junior, placed third, and Ashley Pulliam, Dallas junior, placed seventh.
In team competition, the team of Harridon and Pulliam were finalists and took second place in the tournament. Higgins and Pesa advanced to the field of eight, where they were eliminated by the eventual winner of the tournament, a team from UNT.
The SFA contingent, consisting of four and a half teams, competed in a field of 80 competitors from nine Texas schools and one from Arkansas. SFA brought home eight trophies from the event.
The Moot Court is a fictitious court held in law schools to argue hypothetical cases, especially at the appellate level. And while fictitious, to some, can mean unnecessary, it is good practice for the students who plan on careers in politics and law.
SFA officials nominate two Moot Court members annually to receive a Presidential Scholarship to any of the law schools hosting a tournament.
Dr. Karren Price, assistant professor in the criminal justice department, is the current adviser to the group, and said that she is proud of the results the SFA team kachieved.
"Overall, they've exceeded what I've expected," she said.
In May of each year, Moot Court teams receive a case problem with the court cases listed which may be used in addressing the pertinent issues.
The problem is always one of constitutional law, and the individual teams of two must prepare an appellate argument for both sides. The team members do not know until 5 to 10 minutes prior to argument which side they will present, so they must know the cases and the record intimately.
For those pursuing a career in law, Price said, "Even if you don't receive a top award, your participation in the program can make the difference in your acceptance to law school."
She said she's seen it happen at SFA. Alumni Daniel Keesee and Rachel Nichols have both been accepted to law school programs at Baylor and Texas Tech with the help of the Moot Court program.
Tryouts will begin in sometime in April for those interested. More notice will be posted after Spring Break. For more information, contact Price in Room 416 in the Language Arts North Building.
crobinson@thepinelog.com
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