Through moot court competitions students get hands-on experience in specific areas of law like criminal law. Miami Law’s team of Evan Gilbert, 2L, and Savannah Valentine, 2L, finished in second place at the annual Herbert Wechsler National Criminal Moot Court Competition. The Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court team also won the Second Best Brief award, and Valentine won the Second Best Overall Advocate award.
“All our prep paid off, and we were very happy when we got all the way to the final round,” said Valentine. “Evan and I winning second best brief and me winning second best oral advocate was a testament to how well we worked together, and it was an honor considering how great the other teams were.”
Richard Jones, J.D. ’08, coached the team.
“I loved being teammates with Savannah and am so proud of her for winning second best oralist,” said Gilbert. “We also had great guidance from our coach, who was a pleasure to work with and helped us improve through countless practice oral arguments.”
The team competed virtually against 29 teams and lost to William and Mary Law School in the final round.
The Herbert Wechsler National Criminal Moot Court Competition is the only national moot court in the United States to focus on topics in substantive criminal law. Named after the drafter of the Model Penal Code, the competition problem addresses the constitutionality and interpretation of federal and state criminal statutes as well as general issues in the doctrine of federal and state criminal law.
“It was such an honor to compete with Savannah and place second overall,” said Gilbert. “We were going to have fun no matter how far we went, but we were definitely excited to advance with each passing round, especially since the other teams were all impressive.”
Read more about Miami Law’s Moot Court Program
More on criminal law at Miami Law
