Law Students

Making it to the Hinton Moot Court Finals is no small feat.  The four finalists, Cleve Doty '09, Kyle Reynolds '08, Stephen Schwartz '08, and Michael Walsh '08, persevered through two grueling rounds of arguments against some stiff competition from their talented classmates.  Now with the Finals just hours away some of our finalists shared their thoughts on this year-long experience.

"Moot Court has been a wild ride. I showed up for both the preliminary and semi-final rounds intending to put in a good effort even though I was I sure I wouldn't move on, yet I was pleasantly surprised when I did.  The faculty panel [comprised of Professors Julie Roin, Lisa Berstein and Tom Ginsburg]: they ask all of those hard questions you hope they're not going to raise.  As for the Finals, I'm just happy to participate.  My parents are flying up from Texas and it will be an honor to argue with the other finalists."  - Cleve Doty '09

"The Moot Court competition has been terrific thus far.  You have to be at your best, of course, because you're up against some of the best legal writers and debaters at the Law School.  Even though the competition is tough the competition have been very collegial because some of my favorite people at the Law School have been involved.  I'm excited to advance with the other finalists and to argue before a panel of federal judges."  - Stephen Schwartz '08

The Finals will be held tomorrow, May 6th, before a panel of prestigious federal judges, Frank Easterbrook, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and U of C Senior Lecturer in Law, Judge Margaret McKeown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Judge Barbara Rothestein of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.  This year's case is Carcieri v. Kempthorne, 497 F.3d 15 (1st Cir. 2007) which addresses the question of whether the federal government has the ability to take land into trust for Native American Indian Tribes not recognized until after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.  Good luck to our finalists!