Baylor Law Victorious In San Diego Contest; Wins Third Place In Atlanta

by Alan Hunt

Baylor Law School posted impressive performances in moot court and mock trial contests in San Diego, Cal., and Atlanta, Ga., during the weekend.
In San Diego, Baylor's Moot Court team defeated 36 teams from 20 law schools nationwide to claim first and third places in the 16th annual National Criminal Procedure Tournament. Team members were Amanda Hamilton, Andrew Smith, Gabriel Head and Ashley Veitenheimer. Faculty coaches were Professors Rory Ryan and Brian Serr.
And in Atlanta, another Baylor team won third place at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) mock trial tournament. Representing Baylor were Kenan Boland, Robert Callahan, Robert Little and Jessica Russell. The team was coached by Professor Mark Osler and the Hon. Jeffrey Manske, a Federal Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Texas.
Ryan said Hamilton and Smith won the San Diego tournament, "defeating 36 teams from 20 schools, including Boston College, George Washington, Michigan State, New York Law School, South Texas and SMU. In the final round, they defeated Brooklyn Law School before a panel of distinguished judges, including Ninth Circuit Judges Stephen Reinhardt and Clifford Wallace, and Southern District of California Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz."
Hamilton and Smith also won the Second Best Brief Award, while Head and Veitenheimer also advanced to the competition's final day, earning a third place finish.
"In their semifinal round, Head and Veitenheimer argued before now-retired Judge H. Lee Sarokin, the judge who granted the writ of habeas corpus that freed Rubin 'The Hurricane' Carter. Based on that argument, the judges awarded Head and Veitenheimer third place over the University of California, Hastings," Ryan said.
Osler said the NACDL tournament in Atlanta was held in conjunction with the association's annual meeting. "The competition was judged by experienced trial attorneys attending the convention," he said. "It is an invitational tournament with 12 teams involved. We were the defending champions, having won the tournament last year. The trial involved a double murder."
Congratulating the students and faculty coaches, Dean Brad Toben said their contest performances represented a weekend of "splendid achievement" for Baylor Law School.
"Our interscholastic advocacy record continues to be superb. I'm grateful for our bright and motivated student competitors and for their dedicated faculty and adjunct coaches. The effort and focus that they bring to these competitions inure impressively to the benefit and profile of the Law School."