Black Law Students Association Moot Court team headed to Nationals

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. –Penn State Law’s Black Law Students Association won the Frederick Douglas Moot Court Regional Competition, and ended by beating out the University of Baltimore in the third place match to earn a spot representing the Mid-Atlantic Region at nationals.

Ten teams from BLSA chapters throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Maryland,  New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C.,  and West Virginia, came together to face off for the regional title in Portsmouth, Virginia . The Penn State Law team consisted of Anita Alexander and Latoya Cottigham, pictured above along with other BLSA members. The team is coached by third-year student Dwayne Wright.

The National Frederick Douglas Competition will take place March 11 - 15 in Portland, Oregon. The top three teams in each of the six regional competitions will be competing against each other for the national title. The Fredrick Douglass Moot Court competition is one of the oldest continuous competitions in the country and teams in this competition do a mock oral argument for a case that is made to be in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.     

The Penn State Law BLSA Moot Court team researched and practiced from September to November 2014. Wright says of the team, “It takes a tremendous amount of prep time. And once at the competition, you never know what can happen. So you have to be prepared to do exactly what was practiced or change the game plan on a moment’s notice. “