Moot Court Minutes2010-2011 Moot Court Board

Dear Moot Court Board Alumni,

! The Moot Court Board has been incredibly busy this year. Our largest event, the National Competition, was successful once again due to Dani Pemberton’s excellent planning and the entire Board’s hard work and commitment to excellence. We were honored and blessed to bring glory to God as evidenced by the positive responses and comments from both judges and competitors. ! We are also incredibly proud of our interscholastic teams. Regent has sent four teams to two competitions so far this year, and they have all represented Regent well. The interscholastic moot court season will wrap up for Regent this weekend as we send two more teams to a new competition at Elon School of Law. The Board ha s been work ing tirelessly to moot and prepare all of these teams. !

! The Board’s last event, the 1L Competition, begins next week. Regent has been holding the 1L Competition for 18 years, and with 160 students competing, this year’s will be one of the largest. The Board places heavy emphasis on this event because it is the first time that first-year law students are exposed to practical lawyering outside of the classroom. This is the time when many students will become inspired to excel in legal writing and oral advocacy. The 1L Competition draws interest and talent out of students who do not even know that they possess it.! Lastly, in striving to become more unified as a Board, Grace Del Rosario

organized several events outside of school including the first annual Moot Court Board v. Law Review paintball tournament. The Board is pleased to announce their big win, although Law Review would most likely disagree. ! Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, and God Bless.

Volume 2: Edition 2In This Edition:

•! Chairman’s Corner! p. 1

•! National Competition ! Continues Its Tradition ! of Excellence! p. 2

•! Regent Receives High ! Honors at Spong ! Competition! p. 3

•! Preview: Interscholastic ! Competitions ! p. 3

•! Preview: 1L Competition p. 3

•! ABA Teams Represent ! Regent with Excellence ! p. 4

Chairman’s Corner

REGENT UNIVERSITY MOOT COURT BOARD! MARCH 30, 2011

Page 1

Linh Flores, Chairman

The Moot Court Board and Associates at the National Competition with Dean Brauch and the keynote speaker, Candice Hooper

REGENT UNIVERSITY MOOT COURT BOARD! MARCH 30, 2011

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National Competition Continues Its Tradition of ExcellenceDani Pemberton, National Competition Coordinator

! T hi s year ’s Nat iona l Competition proved to be a successful event once again through the favor and blessing of the Lord. In a 5-4 decision, William and Mary Law School came away as the tournament champions after a competitive final round against Liberty University School of Law.! Sixteen teams from eleven law schools across the country, including University of Virginia, Brigham Young Univers i ty, and George Ma son University, attended the competition on February 11-12. The competitors submitted a brief and gave oral a rguments regard ing the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. ! Some of our judges this year included Judge David Cayer from the Western Distr ict of North Carolina, Judge Glen Conrad from the Western District of Virginia, Judge Rossie Alston from the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and Judge

Jo h n G e m m i l l from the Arizona Court of Appeals. Many local attorneys and Moot Court Board alumni also g e n e r o u s l y g a v e their time to serve as judges. ! At the conclusion of the competition, the awards banquet featured keynote speaker and former Regent alumnus and Moot Court Board member Candice Hooper. Mrs. Hooper is an Ass i s tant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office where she works with the Investigations Squad

in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s Civil Division. In delivering her keynote speech, Mrs. Hooper explained her work with the Attorney General’s office.

Speaking from experience, she urged competitors to never be afraid of facing a challenge for fear of rejection.! The hard work , t ime , and professionalism of the entire Moot Court Board made this year’s event was one of the most successful ever. Judge Alston commended the board by expressing, “I can say without reservation that your competition is the best managed and most hospitable competition I have ever participated in. The quality of the bench brief, the organization of the competition itself, and just the plain class of the event sets Regent's National Competition apart from others.” ! One of the teams f rom the University of Virginia said, “Our team wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you for such an enjoyable, smooth, and well-run competition. The argument was great, and the banquet afterwards was very classy. All your hard work really paid off, and we found it a truly great experience.” ! The Moot Court Board was truly thankful to be able to bring glory to God through a successful competition.

Pictured: Linh Flores (Chairman), Jessica Kuehn and Justin Hoover (Tournament Champions from William and Mary)

Justin Hoover from William and Mary argues in the championship round before the final panel of judges.

REGENT UNIVERSITY MOOT COURT BOARD! MARCH 30, 2011

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Regent Receives High Honors at Spong TournamentBethany Yenca, Public Relations & Administrative Liasion

Preview: Interscholastic CompetitionsDaniel Hebda, Interscholastic Competitions Coordinator

! This year, Regent is participating in a new moot court competition. From March 31 to April 2, Elon University School of Law is hosting the first annual Billings, Exum, & Frye National Moot Court Competition in Greensboro, North Carolina. The prob lem enga ges s tudents in arguments about free speech, the Establishment Clause, and the public forum doctrine. The crux of the debate is whether the government may, in proclaiming a state day of prayer, hold an event promoting the day but simultaneously exclude a group from the event who is speaking peacefully against the day of prayer. 

! One of the highlights of the tournament will include former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor delivering the keynote address at the tournament’s concluding banquet. ! Regent considered several competition options before deciding to attend this competition and ultimately decided to send two teams to Elon because of the school’s commitment to excellence, the intriguing topic, and the proximity to Regent. The later competition date also allowed many competitors to enjoy their Christmas breaks free from brief writing. ! The Board looks for ward to reporting on the success of our teams. 

! Regent’s dedication to oral advocacy has resulted in a favorable outcome once again at the William B. Spong, Jr. Moot Court Tournament hosted by William and Mary School of Law. Out of 21 competing teams, Regent placed third at the 2011 competition held February 18-19. Additionally, out of 47 individual competitors, 2L Jonathan Young received the Best Oralist award, 3L John Wilkerson placed fifth, and 2L Jamie Barton placed ninth. ! John Wilkerson expressed that he was proud of the fact that Regent sent not just one but two high quality teams to the tournament.! Jamie Bar ton descr ibed preparation for the tournament as intense but paying off. “William and Mary had really excellent judges, and it was a privilege to argue before them.”! Jonathan Young also appreciated the preparation he received for the tournament. “All of our coaches . . . and the various members of the Board, had prepared us extremely well.

I don’t believe that any of the judges asked us any questions that we hadn't already both heard and addressed in our practice rounds,” he stated.! Each year, the tournament focuses on a current and l e a d i n g constitutional issue. This year, co m p e t i to r s submitted a brief and gave oral a rguments in re l a t ion to the Compensat ion Clause and the Political Question doctrine. ! Regent has been attending the Spong Tournament since 1996 and will most likely continue to do so in the years to come.

Preview: 1L CompetitionBethany Yenca, Public Relations & Administrative Liasion

! The Moot Court Board will continue its tradition of inspiring Regent’s first year students to excel in oral advocacy and legal writing through the 1L Competition during the first week in Apr i l . Thi s year ’s Competition will be held from April 5-9 with the final round taking place on April 11. ! Last week, the 1L class completed their final briefs on the problem, which involves issues surrounding the “piercing the corporate veil” doctrine as well as the proper awarding of punitive damages according to West Virginia law.! This event is always an exciting one for the Board to host because of the opportunity it has to motivate and encourage 1L students. If you are interested in judging for the competition, please visit the 1L Competition link at regent.edu/m o o t co u r t o r co n t a c t Sarah Hartsfield, 1L Competition Coordinator, at saraha4@regent.edu.

Pictured: Annalise Lang, Jonathan Young, Jamie Barton (2Ls)

REGENT UNIVERSITY MOOT COURT BOARD! MARCH 30, 2011

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ABA Teams Represent Regent With Excellence

Keep Up With The MCB On The Web! Upcoming Events

•! March 31: The Billings, ! Exum, & Frye National ! Moot Court Competition ! (Elon University School ! of Law, NC)

•! April 5-11: 1L Intramural ! Competition (Regent Law ! School, VA)

Keep up with us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/regentmootcourt.

As the taxi slowly crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, they could see the Statute of Liberty raising her torch in the west. After three months of preparation for the ABA’s regional National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Brooklyn, NY, the week of the competition had arrived. ! As soon as ABA released the problem in mid- December, the two Regent teams worked tirelessly together. Tristen Cramer (2L) noted, “After almost two months of mooting in front of professors, board members, and outside attorneys, I think we were the most prepared teams in Brooklyn. As nervous as we were, we were able to enter each round with the confidence that comes from knowing the problem completely and being ready for any question.”! After each team submitted individual briefs on January 10, they intensely prepared for oral arguments. Professors Michael Hernandez and Benjamin Madison worked closely with the teams in their development of appellate advocacy skills. In addition, the Moot Court Board donated time to moot them six days a week. Ruth Maron (2L) stated, “Most importantly, at each point in our preparation, we dedicated our work and the competition to the Lord. This helped me remember the deeper purpose for our training. I am preparing to be an advocate for my clients’ interests, not to promote myself.” ! The ABA problem presented two issues. First, can a plaintiff ’s challenge to a state statute be ripe for review when the state Attorney General has announced that she is not enforcing a portion of the statute? Second, does a

state statute unconstitutionally restrict commercial speech when it prohibits certain forms of advertising for a drug used to make crystal meth? ! On March 3, all of the teams and coaches squeezed into the cafeteria of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for the competition’s first meeting. Regent teams then found a quiet corner and prayed for each other and the entire weekend. After the preliminary rounds on Thursday through Saturday morning, the teams returned to the cafeteria, eagerly awaiting the results.! Both Regent teams performed well. Daniel Hebda (3L), Tristen Cramer, and Megan Herwald (2L) advanced to the final round, while Kawika Vellalos (3L), Ruth Maron, and Brian Bailey (2L) advanced to the semi-finals. Of the thirty-nine teams that competed, four advanced to nationals in Chicago in April. “Even though we did not advance to nationals, I think we were able to represent Regent well and bring glory to God,” according to Tristen Cramer. ! In addition, out of 117 competitors, individual oralist honors were given to Tristen Cramer for 5th place and Kawika Vellalos for 10th place. Brian Bailey’s reflection captures the sentiment well, “I'm proud of both of our teams and of all our team members.” ! The teams are grateful for the opportunity to have represented Regent. “I really thought it was the most enjoyable and rewarding experience I've had in law school. I grew as an advocate and as a believer through each round due to the unflagging encouragement from my teammates and coaches,” Daniel Hebda stated.

Ruth Maron, Associate