When autocomplete options are available, use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.
Apply Give

Moot Court team wins national championship

David Korn (left) and Randall Shirey, two seniors in the Helms School of Government, are the first Liberty Moot Court National Champions.

For the first time in program history, a team from Liberty University’s undergraduate Moot Court program, under the Helms School of Government, snatched first place at the 2021 American Moot Court Association (AMCA) National Tournament.

After a long day of arguing First Amendment issues, which has been the central focus all season, Liberty seniors David Korn and Randall Shirey toppled a team from Colorado Christian University in the final round on Sunday.

“There’s nothing I can really say to describe the feeling other than it was a cross between happiness, shock, and a sense of pride for the students who worked so hard for the past six months,” said Assistant Professor of Government and Moot Court Coach Dr. Benjamin Rathsam, who took over the program last year.

Five of Liberty’s eight teams were among the 100 teams competing virtually for the national title.

Korn and Shirey finished undefeated in the preliminary rounds with wins against a team from Williams College and two teams from North Texas University.

As the competition narrowed to 50 teams by day two, Korn and Shirey found themselves facing squads from Bentley University, the University of Southern California, and two lineups from Moot Court powerhouse Patrick Henry College.

Korn and Shirey trounced them all.

Four of Liberty’s teams qualified for day two, also a program record.

“You’re not going to come across a bad team in the round of 32 and beyond,” Rathsam said.

“Saturday was hard, but ultimately winning a national championship in the end helps sooth some of that burn.”

Nationwide, 500 teams competed in regional tournaments in the fall, with the top 100 securing spots in the national tournament. Rathsam said this season’s success was a team effort across the board.

“There are so many outside variables that come into play when it comes to winning the national championship,” he said. “The standard is always putting my students and the team in the best possible position to succeed. … No matter what, I know that our team gave it their best. And this time, it all broke in our favor.”

“At Liberty University, we focus on excellence in practice as well as excellence in the classroom,” said Dean of the Helms School of Government Robert Hurt. “This first-time national championship win for our Moot Court team is a great example of how Liberty strives to prepare our students to go out into the world to be Salt and Light. We congratulate David and Randy and the entire Moot Court team for an excellent showing this weekend, and we are grateful to Dr. Ben Rathsam and Dr. Tony Robertson for the extraordinary leadership.”

Chat Live Chat Live Request Info Request Info Apply Now Apply Now Visit Liberty Visit Liberty