Moot Court Teams Set A School Record

Image of moot court teams
Left to right: Doug Horn, Brandon Beck, Tori Burke, Roma Diseati, Tom Dossey, and Kevin Kehne.
For the first time ever, two teams from Scalia Law will be among the 24 invited (of more than 180 teams competing) to participate in the final rounds of the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Contest. The national finals will be held in Washington, D.C. from April 13–15. The Scalia Law teams of Brandon Beck, Victoria Burke, and Doug Horn; and Roma Diseati, Tom Dossey, and Kevin Kehne earned places by winning nine of their combined 10 matches at the ABA’s Boston Regional qualifying event held March 2-4. Victoria Burke was also recognized as the fourth best advocate of more than 70 students eligible for the award.
Four teams from Boston will join the winners of regional contests in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, to make up the field of 24 in D.C. This year’s ABA contest problem concerns whether, and to what extent, the First Amendment protects the in-class speech of instructors at public colleges.
The Scalia Law teams “not only mastered the substantive law but thoughtfully engaged with the judges’ questions and responded effectively to their competitors’ arguments. Their success was hard-earned and well deserved,” said Adjunct Professor Justin Angotti, who accompanied the teams to Boston and coached them along with Adjuncts Ernie Isenstadt and Brandy Wagstaff.

 

UPDATE (April 25, 2023): This month, our Moot Court Nationals Teams completed their competitive year at the final rounds of the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Contest. The Scalia Law teams of Brandon Beck, Victoria Burke, and Doug Horn; and Roma Diseati, Tom Dossey, and Kevin Kehne, both advanced in the competition, setting another record for our Moot Court program. The teams each reached the Octo-Finalist round, arguing before panels of up to six judges, while capably navigating questions and complex constitutional law.

Two of our competitors, Tom Dossey and Victoria Burke, earned individual distinctions as well, ranking in the Top 10 Oral Advocates in the final rounds. In a competition that began with over 500 competitors, and final rounds consisting of 72 competitors, Tom Dossey ranked #8, and Victoria Burke ranked #4.