Holy Cross Moot Court Team Qualifies for Nationals

The Holy Cross Moot Court team was represented by five teams of two at the South Atlantic Regional Tournament, a two-day national qualifier hosted by the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla. on Nov. 15-16. Twelve schools were participating in the tournament, sending over 100 competitors.

Moot Court is a simulation of appellate court, in which participants argue the constitutionality of lower rulings in front of a panel of judges who act as the Supreme Court.  One case is chosen each year by the Young Lawyers Committee of the New York City Bar Association and is used for all sanctioned competitions. In each case,  two distinct constitutional issues are at bar; each partner in a two-person team is allocated one issue and prepares arguments for both the petitioner and respondent. Teams must study past case law and use judicial precedent to combat questioning and convince the Supreme Court to rule in favor of their side. This year’s case addresses the constitutionality of warrantless location tracking and the indefinite detainment of a U.S. citizen suspected of affiliation with terrorist organizations.

After the preliminary rounds on Friday night, Holy Cross held the eighth, ninth, and 12th seeds, advancing three teams to the second day of the competition.  An eighth place ranking earned Andrea Kelble ’16 and Bethany Fogerty ’16 a bye for the first elimination round. This bye meant that they found themselves competing in the octofinal round against fellow Crusaders Megan Izzo ’17 and Andrew Emerson ’14. After a close round, it was the team of Izzo and Emerson who advanced to the quarterfinals and later entered the semifinals as the top-ranked seed, securing a spot in the national competition.

On Nov. 23, the Holy Cross teams who did not compete in Orlando will participate in the Eastern Regional Tournament at Fitchburg State University, another qualifier for nationals. Captains Michael Bender ’15 and Christine Fimognari ’15, along with two other teams, will compete for the chance to join Izzo and Emerson in representing Holy Cross at nationals, which will be held Jan. 17-18 at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law of Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz.