Office of Communications

Contact: Amy Houle

Communications Specialist

Office: (817) 531-7521

ahoule@txwes.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Texas Wesleyan to Compete in Moot Court Tournament

Texas Wesleyan students April Folta and Heather Nichols will enter the last Moot Court competition of the season ranked first in all three categories: top speaker, top team and overall top team. They will join the second Texas Wesleyan team of Danny Chism and Dianna Littlepage to compete March 31-April 1 at Texas Wesleyan University Law School.

The competition, sponsored by the Texas Undergraduate Moot Court Association, will begin with two preliminary rounds on Friday afternoon and continue on to the medal rounds. The medal rounds will be held in courtrooms Saturday morning. Top oralists, top overall teams, and top team for the year will receive awards at the competition.

“Texas Wesleyan has not been involved in TUMCA since about 1999, and we are very pleased because in just our second year back in the competitions, we broke into the top teams last fall,” notes Michelle Payne, visiting professor of political science at Texas Wesleyan and team sponsor. “After one year, the students are remarkable! They brief the hypothetical case, research 20-25 precedent cases, formulate an oral argument for their ‘client,’ and then present this argument to the ‘court’ under strict time constraints and in accordance with courtroom decorum. The students practice their arguments relentlessly, and have perfected the arguments so much that they often have no notes when in competition.”

Moot Court competitions provide an opportunity for students of all disciplines to learn and practice the skills needed for reasoned debate. Competitions are held at law schools, where students may make contacts and be recruited for future attendance.

“Moot Court is legal debate at its finest,” notes Payne, “And the rewards come not only from the debate itself, but also from the contacts with law schools the students inevitably make.”

At a regional competition at Baylor Law School February 17 and 18, hosted by the Texas Undergraduate Moot Court Association, the Folta-Nichols team placed first in all-around competition and were semi-finalists in the Award Rounds. Heather Nichols, a political science major, was named Top Orator for the entire competition. April Folta, a business major, was named seventh orator. A second Texas Wesleyan team of Carrie Yovanovitch and Tyler Atkinson, both political science majors, placed in the top 20.

Contact Michelle Payne at (817) 531-6507 or mpayne@txwes.edu for more information.