STU Moot Court Wins North American Round of International Competition

Ashley Thornton and Emily Green of St. Thomas University Moot Court were crowned the winners of the North American round of the Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court competition—an event typically reserved for law schools and law students.  

 

STU Moot was granted special permission to compete in the competition based on the program’s winning record against undergraduate teams in Canadian and American law and its history of success at the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court competition.  

 

Thornton, who is studying Criminology and Psychology, said it was intimidating to be the only undergraduate team at the competition, but their success is evidence of the quality of the STU Moot program. 

 

“I think our success speaks to the calibre of STU’s Moot Court program as a whole, and how the skills we’ve gained throughout our time at STU have allowed us to be competitive, even against law students.” 

 

The STU duo competed against the University of Illinois Chicago, the University of Miami, and the University of Hawaii during the competition and advanced straight to the finals as the team with the highest winning record from the preliminary rounds.  

 

Unlike undergraduate competitions, students competing in law school moots work more independently. This means coaches can help with strategy, but it is up to the students to do the legal research and write the legal brief on their own.  

 

For Green, who is studying Environment and Society and Human Rights, this competition presented a unique opportunity to put her in-class learning to work. 

 

“The Stetson International Environmental Moot Court competition is the world’s largest moot court competition devoted exclusively to environmental issues,” she said. “As a student in the Environment and Society program, I have been able to apply some of the concepts and material I am learning in class to the case and use my knowledge to strengthen my arguments.” 

 

Top Brief and Speaker Awards 

 

Thornton and Green were also recognized as top oralists at the event—Green was named the Best Oralist in the preliminary rounds and Thornton was crowned Best Oralist in the final round.  

 

The written brief submitted by the pair was also recognized as the top written brief of the tournament.  

 

As winners of the North American round, Thornton and Green have qualified for the International Round of the competition which is set for April.