Government students finish in top 16 at moot court nationals

Two members of Liberty University’s Helm’s School of Government Moot Court Team placed in the top 16 nationally at the American Collegiate Moot Court Association National Championship Tournament, Jan. 15 at California State University at Long Beach.

Senior A.J. Colkitt and junior Nathan Wilson were one of just 80 two-member teams who qualified for nationals out of 400 teams who competed in regionals last November. The team was coached by School of Government professor Dr. Robert Robertson, who was assisted by Benjamin Rathsam, a third-year student at Liberty University School of Law and the liaison between Liberty’s pre-law undergraduate program and the law school Moot Court Board.

Colkitt was also ranked in the top 25 orators in the national competition.

Though Wilson and Colkitt were seeded at No. 67, they advanced all the way to the Sweet 16 after defeating a team from Duke University. Liberty ultimately fell in the round of 16 to a team from Patrick Henry College, the tournament’s eventual runner-up.

“Moot court has been an amazing experience,” Colkitt said. “I have learned a lot about the legal system through moot court.  There is an element of personal interaction with the material that cannot be recreated through a textbook. God has used the competition to teach me a lot about how to persevere and trust in Him when things look too daunting to handle on my own.”