Florida State University College of Law Wins Moot Court Competition

Brenda Czekanski and Jenna Von See from Florida State University College of Law won the 2018 Seigenthaler-Sutherland Cup National First Amendment Moot Court Competition, held March 23 – 24 in Washington, D.C.

Hosted by the Newseum Institute and the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America, the competition welcomed 24 teams from law schools around the country. The competition problem focused on the constitutionality of public officials’ exclusion of constituents and deletion of adverse comments from social media accounts discussing public policy issues.

Second place in the competition went to Helen Le and Koby Lyons of the South Texas College of Law Houston.

Doori Song, Justin Lewis and Jake Crammer of the University of Notre Dame Law School won the “Best Brief” award; Quemars Ahmed and Bianka Barraza of the University of California Los Angeles Law School were the runners-up for “Best Brief.”

Dominic Corrolla and Samuel Nolan of Duquesne University School of Law tied for the award for “Best Oralist.”  Evan Berlanti of the Columbus School of Law won the runner-up award for “Best Oralist.”

The final-round of the competition was presided over by Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey, Senior U.S. Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  She was joined on the bench by Judge Bernice Donald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; James Duff, Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; John Garvey, president of The Catholic University of America; Judge Rodney Sippel, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri; and Judge Jane Stranch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center has sponsored a national First Amendment moot court competition for 28 years. Through 2015, the Moot Court was conducted in partnership with the Vanderbilt University Law School, in Nashville. The competition was named for John Seigenthaler, the founder of the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center.

The Columbus School of Law has hosted the Sutherland Cup competition since its inception in 1950. The competition was named for Supreme Court Justice George B. Sutherland, an ardent defender of the U.S. Constitution who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1922 to 1938. The Sutherland Cup is the oldest continuous private moot court competition in the nation.

Complete list of the 2018 competition winners, runners-up and judges:

overall COMPETITION

Winner
Florida State University College of Law, Tallahassee, Florida

Runner-up
South Texas College of Law Houston, Houston, Texas

BEST BRIEF COMPETITION

Winner
University of Notre Dame Law School, South Bend, Indiana

Runner-up
University of California Los Angeles Law School, Los Angeles, California

BEST ORALIST COMPETITION

Winner
Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Runner-up
Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

Quarter-FINAL ROUND JUDGES

• Professor Sarah Duggin, Professor of Law at the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America
• David Hudson, First Amendment Ombudsman of the First Amendment Center at the Newseum Institute
• The Hon. Ron Jarashow, formerly of the United States Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland, currently at Gormley Jarashow Bowman LLC
• Jan Neuharth, Chair and CEO of the Freedom Forum
• Lata Nott, Executive Director of the First Amendment Center at the Newseum Institute
• The Hon. Thurman H. Rhodes, United States District Court of Maryland, District Five, Prince George’s County

Semi-final Round Judges

• Daniel Attridge, Dean at the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America
• The Hon. Marian F. Harrison, United States Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Tennessee
• The Hon. Joseph Leeson Jr., United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Gene Policinski, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Newseum Institute
• The Hon. Susan Webber Wright, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas

Final Round Judges

• The Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• The Hon. Bernice Donald, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• James Duff, Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
• John H. Garvey, President of The Catholic University of America
• The Hon. Rodney W. Sippel, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• The Hon. Jane Stranch, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit