Second-year students at USC Law got a taste of arguing before the Supreme Court during the 57th Annual Hale Moot Court Honors Competition.
Four finalists undertook two important issues regarding constitutional rights: whether a public university professor’s First Amendment rights were violated when she was dismissed based on in-class speech; and whether a person’s statements to police during an informal stop should be suppressed if no Miranda warnings were provided.
Students, faculty and family members filled Norris Theater to watch Johari Townes, Matthew Benedetto, Andy Oxman and Colin MacMillan (pictured above, in order from left to right) confront these issues.
All four finalists were peppered with questions during their 15-minute arguments by three judges: Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; Judge Pamela Ann Rymer, of the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit; and U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang, of the Central District of California.
After deliberating the students’ arguments for about 20 minutes, the judges declared Matthew Benedetto champion of the oral advocacy contest and Townes runner-up. As the winner, Benedetto receives a California BAR/BRI Bar Review scholarship for half the cost of a bar review course.
Judge Rymer told the finalists that she views oral argument as an opportunity to have a conversation with counsel, who knows so much about their particular case, as the afternoon finalists did.
“Each one of you is just terrific,” Rymer said. “I thought it was great to have people who were so prepared and so willing to address the questions asked — even if the questions were crazy, which they often are. I wish every argument we heard were of this caliber.”
Eight other students received honors in a written advocacy competition: Melissa Glousman, Michael Curtis, Gloria Chang and Elizabeth Hanley received the Barger & Wolen Written Advocacy Award for the best briefs. Dawn Kennedy, Edgar Martinez, Nick Persky and Audrey Shen received the LEXIS Written Advocacy Award for the runner-up briefs. Oxman and Erin Ayala, Moot Court administrative vice chair, also received the Hale Moot Court Outstanding Service Awards for their enthusiasm, support and dedication to the program.
Based on their performance in a first-year oral and written advocacy competition, 40 second-year students were selected to compete in the student-run Hale Moot Court Competition. Sixteen students advanced following the preliminary round of oral arguments held last November, judged by members of the local bar. In January and February, eight quarterfinalists and four semifinalists were named during competition rounds judged by members of the local, state and federal benches.
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