Fitchburg State made another strong showing at the American Moot Court Association’s regional tournament on Nov. 17-18, with students bound for the national competition in January.
The competition pits students on opposing sides of a legal issue as in an appellate court proceeding, testing their facility with applying interpretations of the law before a panel of guest judges. Fitchburg State had six teams competing in the regionals, among 100 students from a dozen colleges and universities who convened on the campus.
Riley Grinkis ’18 and Aidan Horgan ’18 made the quarterfinals of the regional competition, losing a split decision to the eventual champions. Their performance still qualifies them for a spot in the national tournament in Texas on Jan. 18.
Matt Murphy ’20 and Anthony Ferrari ’19 finished 10th overall in the regional tournament, and will likely be heading to Texas as well, according to Professor Paul I. Weizer, who coaches the Fitchburg State teams.
“I am very proud of the performance of the Fitchburg State students,” Weizer said. “They worked very hard all semester and it is wonderful to see that work rewarded. These students have shown once again that Fitchburg State students can compete with the top students from any school in the nation.”
This year’s hypothetical case involves whether the ability to map a defendant’s brain to determine if he was at a crime scene would violate his constitutional rights. Issues related to the constitutionality of solitary confinement are also raised in the case under discussion. The full case problem can be found online.
Participating institutions at the regional tournament included Bentley University; Bridgewater State University; College of the Holy Cross; Fitchburg State University; Framingham State University; George Washington University; Merrimack College; Patrick Henry College; St. Thomas University; Suffolk University; University of Connecticut; and Wheaton College.