March 25, 2015 – From March 21-22, eight NYC high school students competed in American University Washington College of Law’s National High School Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C. The competition brings together high school students from the United States and abroad to showcase their oral advocacy skills. Each student competed in multiple rounds of moot appellate arguments, arguing a First Amendment case on student speech in school. By focusing on the applicability of current legal issues to the high school setting, the competition provided the students with a unique opportunity to strengthen their reasoning skills and increase their understanding of the Constitution and the judicial system.
The eight students on the all-star NYC Moot Court Justice League team included Mohammed Ali from The Brooklyn Latin School, Narek Chil from William Cullen Bryant HS, Alexter Thompson and Rosemerlie Ismera from Hillcrest HS, Hamed Rabah from Fort Hamilton HS, Tiffaney Batista from John Bowne HS, Isabella Gorishnya from New Dorp HS, and Muhammad Mustafa from Brooklyn Technical HS.
Each student was nominated by their Law Academy teachers and selected by MENTOR attorney coaches Bill Natbony from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP and Melissa Geller and Nicole Woolard from Duane Morris LLP. Of the 100 student competitors, six NYC All-Star students advanced from the Preliminaries to the Octofinal round, and three advanced to the Quarterfinal round. Congratulations to all participants on their achievement!