CUNY Law Hosts 14th Annual Moot Court Summer Competition

September 14, 2009

On Saturday, September 12, 2009, CUNY Moot Court hosted the oral arguments of the Fourteenth Annual CUNY Moot Court Summer Competition. The team of Thea Delage (2L) and Sarah Young (2L) won the final round of the competition against the second place team of Natasha Bannan (2L) and Kendall Stagg (2L). Natasha Bannan won the Best Oral Argument Award.

Additionally, the team of Thea and Sarah won the Best Brief Award, with the team of Matthew Main (2L) and John Ting (2L) tying with the team of Anna Shalomova (3L) and Candy Velazquez (3L) for the second-place brief award. Becca Olson won the award for Best Single-Issue Brief. Justyna Mielczarek (2L) won the Best Oral Argument Award for the Preliminary Rounds.

The Annual Moot Court Summer Competition and Advocacy Training program is held every year for CUNY students interested in improving their advocacy skills and in joining CUNY Moot Court. Students are given a case record and must write a substantial appellate brief based upon their own research. After each team submits its appellate brief in late summer, the students argue the issues before a panel of judges. Students who meet a base score in the competition are invited to become members of CUNY Moot Court.

The Summer Competition is organized and run by current Moot Court members. The Summer Competition Coordinator was Yvette Rosario (3L), and Ramiro Vidal (3L) served on the Summer Competition Committee. Current first-year students acted as bailiffs and timekeepers, and judges included alum, faculty, attorneys, and real judges. The final round panel of judges consisted of: Hon. Bryanne Hamill (Kings Family Court), Hon. Diccia Pineda-Kirwan (Queens Civil Court), Nicola R. Murray (CUNY '03; CUNY Nationals Moot Court Team '02), and CUNY School of Law Dean Michelle Anderson.

Congratulations to the following students who successfully completed the Summer Competition and are now new members of CUNY Moot Court: Spero Andreopoulos (2L), Natasha Bannan (2L), Elizabeth Cordoba (2L), Thea Delage (2L), Adam Haggett (2L), Kathryn Heffron, A.J. Jack (2L), Eric Kushman (2L), Michele Lampach (3L), Zelideth Maguina (2L), Matthew Main (2L), Jason Mays (2L), Justyna Mielczarek (2L), Michael Moskowitz (2L), Becca Olson (2L), Graham Oxford (2L), Beth Rennekamp (2L), Tiffany Rothenberg (2L), Francesca Rukaj (3L), Sophia Solovyova (2L), Kendall Stagg (2L), Christina Tenuta (3L), John Ting (2L), Brian Turner (3L), Candy Velazquez (3L), Sarah Young (2L), and Ron Zapata (2L).

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