First-Place Winner Named in Moot Court Tournament

Andy Fowler, a second-year law student formerly of Cave Creek, Arizona, prevailed in the law school’s 2L Moot Court Tournament on Saturday, October 22.  Fowler faced off against SGA president, Matt Krause, in a lively final round.

All 20 second-year (2L) students who argued in this competition also prepared 15-page briefs from a 40-page case dealing with student rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.  Moot Court advisor, Professor Scott Thompson, recognized Jeff Johnson, formerly of McColl, South Carolina, as the top brief writer in the competition.

Professor Thompson also unveiled a perpetual “Liberty Cup” that will be displayed in the law school, accompanied by a plaque with the names of all tournament winners.  First-year law students will compete in a spring moot court competition in 2006.

Hearing the championship-round arguments were guest judges, all experienced Constitutional attorneys: Mathew D. Staver, Liberty Counsel; Stephen M. Crampton,

American Family Association Center for Law and Policy; Michael J. DePrimo, American Family Association Center for Law and Policy; Steven W. Fitschen, National Legal Foundation , and Dean Bruce W. Green, Liberty University School of Law.  Following the formal arguments, the judges commented on how they would argue the case and pointed out Constitutional issues, strategies, and techniques for both sides of this appellate case.

Through its Lawyering Skills program, Liberty University School of Law emphasizes the practical skills that students must possess to be effective attorneys.  The Moot Court Tournament provides an opportunity for students to practice these skills.  The students who participated in the fall competition argued before over 30 practicing attorneys and judges who provided feedback to them and critiqued their performances from a real-world perspective.

For more information about Moot Court at Liberty University School of Law, or how you can be involved, please write law@liberty.edu or call (434) 592-5300.