Liberty Moot Court ends semester on high note, prepares for nationals

Liberty University’s undergraduate Moot Court program, under the Helms School of Government, finished the 2022 fall season with a program-best six teams qualifying for the American Moot Court Association (AMCA) National Tournament next month.

This year marked a series of firsts for Liberty’s program, with two regional victories in the same season. It was also the first time two Liberty Moot Court teams competed against each other for the regional trophy.

Assistant Professor of Pre-Law and Government and Moot Court Coach Dr. Benjamin Rathsam praised this year’s performance.

“We had our best season for regionals since I’ve been the coach and probably our best season as a program,” said Rathsam, who competed himself on Liberty’s undergraduate Moot Court team before graduating in 2013.

At the Texas A&M Regional Championship on Nov. 5-6, Liberty duo Jack Liechty and Colton Hughes won every ballot and defeated a team from the University of Texas at Dallas in the championship round. The team defeated fellow Flames Tori Hu and Emma Scharstein in the semifinals of the tournament.

The following week, Liberty’s Cam Vis and Sophia Ekstrom likewise won regionals , this time at the Capital Law School in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 12-13. They defeated the Liberty team of Riley Banker and Emerson Allen in the championship game. Banker and Allen were named as the top and second-best speakers, respectfully.

All four Liberty teams performed well enough to qualify for the AMCA National Tournament Jan. 14-15 at Louisiana State University, where they will join two other Liberty teams.

Liberty’s Moot Court program also recorded other successes throughout the semester: two teams placed in the top 16 at Texas Tech; one team cracked the top eight and another team the top 16 in Fitchburg, Mass.; and one team made the top 16 at Eastern Michigan.

This season marked the first time that Liberty’s team competed in person in almost three years and included more tournament competitions than previous seasons.

“It’s really big going forward into next year,” said Rathsam, referring to the team’s 2022 campaign. “One, it’s good for recruitment purposes to show that we can go into these tournaments and win these tournaments. Two, it’s a boost for the students who are doing it, knowing that the work that they’re doing is paying off.”

Rathsam also noted that the program prepared heavily over the summer for this year’s competitions.

The Moot Court program will be holding tryouts for next year’s squad in Spring 2023. Any students interested in competing in Fall 2023 or needing more information regarding tryouts can email brathsam@liberty.edu or get connected through the program’s Instagram page.