Arkansas State Moot Court team takes third place at Texas Wesleyan School of Law

Nov. 16, 2009 -- The Arkansas State University Moot Court Team kicked off its season with the bang of a gavel at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 30-31. The pairing of Lilia Pacheco, a sophomore political science major of Jonesboro, and Jervonne Newsome, a senior political science and philosophy major of Jonesboro, placed third in the tournament after prevailing in a hard-fought battle with a team from Baylor University in the quarterfinals. Pacheco and Newsome lost in the semi-finals to the eventual tournament champion from the University of Texas at Austin.

“We were all very pleased with the results,” said Dr. Hans Hacker, Political Science assistant professor and team coach. “To end up third out of 50 teams, that’s difficult to argue with in such a crowded field. All the members of our team represented the university very well.”

In addition, the team won two individual speaker awards. Out of 100 students from 13 universities participating, Abram Skarda, a junior political science major of Des Arc, placed third, and Jervonne Newsome placed 10th. Ryan Mullenix, a senior corporate finance major of Jonesboro, placed 11th. “Our Moot Court team is off to a good start defending its national championship in brief writing,” said Dr. Carol O’Connor, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Moot Court competition involves students arguing a hypothetical case before a fictitious Supreme Court composed of attorneys, judges, public officials, and law school students. It combines training in all the things any lawyer would say are crucial for a career—speaking/advocacy, writing, and research skills. Moot Court also allows ASU undergraduates to meet law students, law school professors, career attorneys, and sitting judges. Opportunities to network with law school students and faculty abound.

The ASU Moot Court Team is a competitive team participating in the Southwestern and South Central Regions of the American Collegiate Moot Court Association (the organization overseeing national undergraduate moot court competition). The team travels throughout the region and nation competing against other undergraduate teams. Competitions are usually held at law schools. All competitions are judged by third year law students, professors, practicing attorneys, and sitting judges.

The Arkansas State Moot Court Team takes to the podium again on Friday, Nov. 20, in Little Rock, when it competes for the South Central Regional Championship at UALR's William H. Bowen School of Law. This competition will determine seeding for the National Undergraduate Moot Court Championships to be held Friday-Saturday, Jan. 15-16, at Florida International University College of Law in Miami, Florida.
--ASU Public Relations student intern Sara Hulett is responsible for writing, editing, and online design and formatting of this release.
           

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