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2006-2007 Competition Results

Twenty-Second Annual William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition
March 1, 2, and 3, 2007

Canceled flights, snow-covered roads, and early closure of the University of Minnesota on Thursday did not discourage the 40 teams from across the nation or the more than 150 local attorneys, judges, and faculty who evaluated the participants. The 22nd annual William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition went on unimpeded March 1-3. (Hotel accommodations in walking distance from the Law School helped.)

Teams told stories of planes landing on snowy runways, flights missed or canceled, high heels left behind in treks through snow drifts during one of Minnesota's most memorable storms in recent history in terms of snow accumulation: All to get a chance to participate in one of the country's most prestigious law competitions. The drama going on outside the Law School set the stage for the rigors to come inside.

The problem in this year's competition considered the constitutionality of voluntary race-conscious school-assignment plans that are being used by some primary and secondary school districts to achieve and/or maintain integration. The competition case, which was argued orally before the U.S. Supreme Court on December 4, 2006, is Parents Involved In Cmty. Sch. v Seattle Sch. Dist., 426 F.3d 1162 (9th Cir. 2005), cert. granted, 126 S. Ct. 2351 (2006) (No. 05-908).

Team Competition Results

1st Place: Campbell University School of Law, Team 1
-Jennifer Kerrigan, Jamie Gentry and Stephanie Evans

2nd Place: Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Team 1
-Roxanna Mason, Bill Patterson and Toneille Raglan

3rd Place: University of Washington School of Law, Team 2
-Andrea Schmitt and Suzanne LiaBraaten

4th Place: University of Wisconsin Law School, Team 1
-Eric Weiss and Wendy Richards

Best Brief Award

Campbell University School of Law, Team 1

Best Oral Advocate Overall Award

Sean Cowley, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Team 1

Best Oral Advocate of the Preliminary Rounds Award

Sean Cowley, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Team 1

Also making the Quarter Finals were: University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Team 2; University of St. Thomas School of Law, Team 1; University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Team 1; and Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Team 1.

Also making the Round of Sixteen were: Georgetown University Law Center, Team 2; DePaul University College of Law; New York Law School; Southern Illinois University School of Law, Team 1; J. Rueben Clark Law School Brigham Young University; Brooklyn Law School; Stetson University College of Law; and University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Members of the Final Round panel for the 2007 William McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition present the first and second-place teams.
Back row from left to right: Assistant Attorney General for the state of Minnesota Tamar N. Gronvall, Hennepin County District Court Judge Charles Porter, Jr., Hennepin County District Court JudgeLloyd Zimmerman, Chief of Operations for the Minneapolis Public Schools Steven Liss, Esq. and Chief Judge Edward Toussaint, Jr. of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Front row on the left: Stephanie Evans, Jennifer Kerrigan and Jamie Gentry of first-place Campbell University School of Law, Team 1, which also won Best Brief honors.
On the right: Roxanna Mason, Toneille Raglan and Bill Patterson of second-place Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Team 1.

The winners of the 3rd place awards, Andrea Schmitt and Suzanne LiaBraaten of the University of Washington School of Law, Team 2.

The winner of the Best Oral Advocate Overall and Best Oral Advocate of the Preliminary Rounds Awards, Sean Cowley of University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Team 1.