Two in a Row! MSU College of Law Wins Moot Court Competition.

There can be no question that MSU College of Law is a national moot court contender.

Hot on the heels of its April 2015 win at the national ABA competition, MSU College of Law can now claim another title: First Amendment moot court champions. Daphne Bugelli and Kyla Barranco won the first competition of MSU Law’s 2015-2016 season, the Wechsler First Amendment moot court competition at American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. (October 16-17). Ms. Bugelli and Ms. Barranco prevailed over 26 other teams to win not only the competition but also Best Brief (First Place).

“This was not an easy win,” said Professor Jennifer Copland, who coached the team at competition. “They faced many challenges, and Ms. Barranco was ill the second day of the competition. But they both had a fierce determination and they refused to let anything get in the way of their success. Ms. Barranco and Ms. Bugelli competed with a maturity and comfort level rarely seen in law students; a number of judges commented on the fact that their skills exceeded those of most seasoned attorneys.”

MSU Law professors Kristi Bowman, Michael Lawrence, Jennifer Rosa, and Jessica Zimbelman assisted the team in oral argument preparation.

The 2015 Wechsler moot court competition involved a school speech issue – whether a school has jurisdiction to discipline lewd or vulgar off-campus speech that causes a potentially foreseeable disruption at the school. Teams argued both sides of the problem, representing both the school district and the student. Ms. Bugelli and Ms. Barranco argued for the government in the octofinals, quarterfinals, and semifinals, and then were assigned to argue for the student in the final round.

The final round judging panel included the Honorable Bernice Donald (United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit), the Honorable Danny Boggs (United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit), and the Honorable Paul Friedman (senior judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia).