Tuesday, December 3, 2024
On Saturday, Sept. 28, Liberty University School of Law held the final round of its twentieth annual 2L/3L Liberty Cup Moot Court Tournament. The event, which featured nine judges and over 100 attendees, took place in the law school’s Supreme Courtroom.
Moot court tournaments have been a staple of Liberty Law’s program since its founding, allowing those students with a passion for advocacy to gain experience presenting arguments in front of real judges.
The Moot Court Board, which prepares and holds these tournaments each semester, worked with the competitors to improve their advocacy skills. This is the first of two tournaments that the Moot Court Board holds every academic year, the second being for 1Ls exclusively.
According to the tournament details, this year’s case focused on “whether journalists have a First Amendment privilege when testifying in a federal criminal trial to not reveal the identity of sources.” The hypothetical case centered around Ellie Williams, a journalist who was told by one of her social media followers that a senator was accepting bribes. After that senator was indicted for a violation of the Hobbs Act, Williams tweeted and livestreamed a report on the bribe video without divulging where she got the source. The government subpoenaed Williams for her source, and Williams moved to quash that subpoena.
The four finalists argued before the court, two students representing Ellie Williams and two representing the United States government. The finalists were 2Ls Nathaniel Brotzman, Arielle Knight, Nikolay Michalowskij, and Isaac Rizkallah. Brotzman won first place in the tournament, followed by Michalowskij. The best brief went to 2L Tristan Minguez.
Minguez detailed the work that the law students accomplish to participate in this tournament. “Whether I was researching, drafting, or revising, I challenged myself to take a complicated body of law and explain it in the most concise and articulate way possible,” he said. “It sharpened not only my understanding of the law but also my ability to communicate it well.”
Director of the Center for Lawyer Skills and moot court coach, Scott Thompson, directs the event. “The four competitors who advanced to the final round all delivered stellar arguments to the distinguished panel of judges,” Thompson said. “They were fantastic representatives of what it means to be a Liberty University School of Law student, and the judges were uniformly impressed.”
Brotzman commented on the event and expressed his gratitude for the Moot Court Board. “I am proud of my achievements but also so proud of my colleagues on the Board and of our law school for the excellence they show in everything they do.”
Judges from around the country came to Liberty Law to hear students argue the case. Thompson highlighted some details about the judges. “On the panel for the final round, we had six judges who had never before visited Liberty University School of Law and one alumnus who now sits on the bench in Pennsylvania.”
The nine judges who presided over the tournament were as follows:
· The Honorable Gilbert Berger, 16th Judicial District Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court of Virginia
· The Honorable Jonathan Biran, Supreme Court of Maryland
· The Honorable Daryl F. Bloom, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
· The Honorable Dominique A. Callins, Virginia Court of Appeals
· The Honorable Michael R. Doucette, 24th Judicial Circuit of Virginia
· The Honorable Roger K. Gannam, Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal
· The Honorable Matthew E. Johnson, Minnesota Court of Appeals
· The Honorable Jonathan Reed, Mifflin County District Court of Pennsylvania
· The Honorable Barron L. Thompson, 37th Judicial District Court of North Carolina
The 1L Liberty Cup Moot Court Tournament will be held in the spring. For more information on Liberty Law’s moot court competitions, visit our website.