The Herbert Wechsler Criminal Law Moot Court Competition was held at the end of March in Buffalo, New York. The national competition hosted 24 teams, including the University of Dayton School of Law team of Heather Frank and Elisha Roberts, who took home the honor of “best brief.” 

According to the competition website, Moot Court competition allows students to tackle problems that “address the constitutionality and interpretation of federal and state criminal statutes as well as general issues in the doctrine of federal and state criminal law.”

This year’s problem was based on an actual case that involved an issue regarding Federal Sentencing Guidelines but was never appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  In oral arguments and in the written brief, teams had to pretend as if they were appealing the real case to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The briefs were limited to 30 pages and written in accordance with the rules of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Frank and Roberts made it to the quarterfinal round, which involved the top 8 teams, and was composed of 40% brief score and 60% oral argument score from two rounds of arguments. They were advised by Professor Becky Cochran.

Preparation for the competition was rigorous, Frank said. “We would often meet on the weekends to discuss the issues and research involved in the case, organize our schedule, and meet draft deadlines. Also, Lisa and I spent countless hours editing the brief to make sure our grammar, spelling, citations, persuasiveness, and clarity of the issues were perfect or near perfect.”
 
While their experience with Moot Court is over, both Frank and Roberts hope that a team from UD competes next year, taking advantage of the opportunity the competition provides to prepare for a law career. 

“I am now able to argue effectively in my briefs and in oral arguments and am aware of what will be expected of me as a lawyer in real life practice,” said Frank. “I can honestly say that had it not been for my legal profession courses at UD, I would neither have made it on Moot Court nor been a part of a team that won ‘best brief’ in a national competition.”