Sometimes unusual things happen, and one of those happened last night, when we found out that we had made it to the “Sweet Sixteen.” This is our first time at Moot Court, and we were expecting to observe–not participate in–day 2 of Moot Court.
Thus, it was early this morning that we arose and prepared–as much as one can prepare at the last minute–for another round of Moot Court. Our opponents were from TCU, Reagan Stephens and Dominic Mendlik, and they were highly ranked.
We soon saw why. Mr. Mendlik…
…and Ms. Stephens…
…were very polished, articulate, and they knew the facts of the case.
For our part, we did the best we could, and we probably performed better during this round than we had all tournament. Maggie was more fluent in her delivery…
…and Olivia did well responding to and, at times, deflecting questions.
The judges, too, were excellent. We had three judges, and they all knew the case, brought different perspectives to the case, and they provided good feedback. Their questions were very good, designed to see whether we knew our facts and could think on the spot.
But, with this level of competition, we saw the writing on the wall…
…but, even as we obtained our results, losing in a split decision (2 ballots to 1), we very much believed we ended on a high note.
With another hour or so before we needed to leave, we watched the next round of coin flips…
…and then we split up and volunteered to be bailiffs, providing us with another perspective on the tournament and allowing us to learn from those with more experience, skill, or both.
It was enlightening–and it was also somewhat gratifying to see that Mr. Mendlik and Ms. Stephens won their next round (the Elite Eight), and the next round (the Semi-Finals), and lost in a split decision in the finals. They will be going to the Preliminary Nationals, and that is a well-deserved berth.
Our experience in Moot Court was overwhelmingly positive. Although we and our coach were beginners, we learned a lot, and it’s almost certain to benefit us as undergraduate students, preparing for law school, in law school, and in the “real world.”
We received much help along the way. Godfrey Blacin spent a lot of time organizing a scrimmage, and this was very helpful to us. Tournament Officials and other coaches also went out of their way to welcome, especially Kinzie Craig Hall, Jennifer Ellis, Kimi King, and Anne Dutia. On campus, Dr. Gene Roberts and Dr. Diana Brown proved very helpful on approaching justices and working on our logic; Stephanie Fors provided logistical support and overall advice; Victoria McClendon-Leggett was generous with her time and support; and students such as Saara Maknojia, Michelle Moya, Emely Garcia, and Jacob Wessels showed support along the way. And many thanks to Madison Cawthon for serving as bailiff!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 