STU Moot Court to Send Seven Teams to National Competition in January

For the second time this fall, St. Thomas University Moot Court has been crowned regional champions.

 

Mackensie Floyd, of Hampton, NB, and Emma Dufour, of Windsor, NS, topped their STU counterparts Jarrod Ryan, of Fredericton, NB, and Husoni Raymond, of Kingston, Jamaica, in the final round to claim top spot at the New England event.

 

“It almost felt like we were back in class on Wednesdays doing a regular round,” Floyd said.

 

“When I found out we were going against Jarrod and Husoni, I realized that it didn’t matter who won. If anyone from STU wins, we all win. It’s truly a team sport and we all helped each other get to the end.”

 

All four of the STU teams that attended the event advanced to the second day of competition, with Floyd, Dufour, Raymond, and Ryan each earning top speaker awards.  

 

Seven Teams Heading to Nationals

 

After advancing past some tough competition—including Duke University, the College of Holy Cross, and the University of North Texas—the STU finalists earned a spot at the National Tournament in Orlando, Florida, and will join the five other pairs of STU mooters who qualified at separate regional competitions.

 

With seven total teams earning bids, this will be the largest cohort STU Moot Court has brought to the national tournament—last year they earned six bids.

 

For Dufour, who was competing in her first official Moot Court Regional, the experience provided confidence and knowledge heading into the team’s preparation for the national tournament.

 

“We practice a lot against our own teammates, so it was interesting to see the kinds of arguments and presentation styles that other schools have,” she said. “It was also good experience to see how judges react to our arguments and presentation styles.”

 

While a number of STU mooters will be making their nationals debut, veterans Emma Walsh, Brianna Workman, Jarrod Ryan, Abbie LeBlanc, Olivia Ricketts, Kelly Brennan, and Elizabeth Tuck will be looking to improve on last year’s top finish of ninth place.

 

The American Moot Court National Championship will take place January 12-13 in Orlando, Florida.

 

The STU moot court experience has been made possible, in large part, thanks to a generous donation from Frank and Julie McKenna to create an endowment fund in the name of McKenna's longtime assistant Ruth McCrea.