Moot Court Finals Recap
Taylor Whitaker - Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 29th marked the end of the 14th annual Moot Court competition. Moot Court simulates courtroom proceedings to help strengthen core skills like public speaking and creating key arguments that will prove useful for years ahead regardless of if you want to attend law school or not.
This year, Moot Court consisted of debates surrounding the question of whether American Samoans were birthright citizens of the United States. Thirteen students competed in the preliminary round of the competition. While all participants performed exceptionally, only four students advanced to the final round. The 2024 finalists were Karli Strom, Shannon Smith, Dean Duncan, and Taylor Whitaker.
Strom defended her title as Top Advocate for the second year in a row. “I think the final this year was a bit of a different feat from last year. This case was unique in the ways that we could all use the same case law and utilize it in a different way. It made it kind of a fun challenge to really dissect the cases and treaties and see how it could be interpreted differently,” said Strom.
In preparation for the competition, many ‘mooters’ spend hours studying case material and drafting their arguments. Strom said she spent “2-3 hours a day reviewing the case and crafting my argument” the week prior to the preliminaries.
“It can seem intimidating, but it's easier than what you think. Take advantage of working with your professor and partners to get different insights from them and use that to your advantage when crafting your argument,” Strom said.
Moot Court, in addition to broadening core skills, can provide great opportunities to build up a resume, and network with lawyers and judges. Not to mention, all students have an opportunity to win a cash prize if they advance to the final round. “Moot court has been valuable to me. I've grown so much in my abilities to craft persuasive arguments and speak publicly that I would not have been able to do without it. It also definitely cemented for me that I do want to pursue law in the future and it's something I'm passionate about,” said Strom.