UK Rosenberg College of Law, Berea College host 1st National Series Moot Tournament Round for undergrads

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 23, 2024) — Undergraduate students from 16 universities convened at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law on Friday, Jan. 19 and Saturday, Jan. 20 for the Bluegrass National Series Moot Tournament, co-hosted with Berea College.

In 2022, UK Rosenberg Law and Berea College co-hosted the Bluegrass Regional Undergraduate Moot Court Tournament, a qualifier for the national tournament of the American Moot Court Association (AMCA). As a result of the tremendous success of that regional-level tournament featuring participating undergraduate teams from across the nation, the AMCA requested that UK Rosenberg Law and Berea College advance to hosting as one of the national series of tournaments leading to the crowning of the annual national champions.

The undergraduate schools represented in this year’s national series round in Lexington were University of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, University of Maryland, California State University Fullerton, California State University Long Beach, Patrick Henry College, Michigan State University, Liberty, Morehouse, University of Louisville, College of Wooster, Georgetown University, Youngstown State University, University of North Texas, Franklin College and Saginaw Valley State University.

Attorneys and judges, including many UK Rosenberg Law alumni, volunteered to serve as “justices” for each round of the tournament. Current law students on the college’s Moot Court Board and Trial Advocacy Board also volunteered to serve as bailiffs and justices, as needed.

American Moot Court Association officials and Berea College student volunteers helped UK Rosenberg Law facilitate the tournament. Dan Huck, a professor of Law, Ethics & Society at Berea College, served as the tournament director.

The competitions required utilizing every classroom throughout the law building, with the final round being held in the G. Chad Perry III Grand Courtroom. Anna Guzman and Emeline Wright of University of Chicago took home the first-place trophy. The runners up were University of Louisville students Caleb Aridano and Megan Crowley. The top eight teams advanced from Lexington to the final round tournament of the AMCA’s national series.

“I want to go to law school. Emeline wants to go to law school. So, it’s been really cool to experience what that will look like in the future,” Guzman said.

Wright said she had a great time during the tournament and both she and her partner were excited about competing as much as possible this year as seniors.

“I absolutely loved this competition. It was so gracious of the University of Kentucky to host,” Aridano said. “This competition requires so much hard work, but it’s so rewarding at the same time.”

Crowley agreed that the tournament was a rewarding experience.

“It’s so rewarding to see the culmination of so much hard work and effort by everyone involved,” she said following the second-place finish. “It’s also just really inspiring to see people my age who have worked really hard to reach a goal. I’m just very thankful for the opportunity to be here.”

Special thanks to volunteer alumni, students and friends in the legal community who served as justices and students who served as bailiffs:

Matthew Burton
Noah Busroe
Jamila Carter
Myles Chaney
Shawn Chapman
Angel Chapman
Laurent Cadet
Carole Christian
Autumn Clark
Susan Clary
Carlin Conway
Harry Dadds
William Davis
Daryl Day
Madelyn Day
C. David Emerson
Tim Feld
Julia Giordano
Al Grasch
Michael Healy
Haley Harris
Jackson Hurst-Sanders
Dana Howard
Nicky Hodges
Jessica Hutchings
Faith Jackson
Nolan McWilliams
Danny Murphy
Brynne McKinsey
Conner McCourt
Daniel Martell
Kaci Loveland
Lindsey McNamee
McCoy Patrick
Jacob Patterson
Sanders Platt
Jesse Robbins
Elizabeth Roseman
Yesel Rodriguez
Marcus Roland
Morgan Sanchez
Abby Schueler
Emily Shepherd
Bruce Singleton
Eden Stevens
Kamryn Stewart
Kassidy Stumbo
Judge Denotra Spruill-Gunther
Garrett Tice
A.J. Vice