Fitchburg State University students will return to the national competition of the American Collegiate Moot Court Association following a first-place showing in the regional tournament held on campus on Nov. 21 and 22.
The team of Amanda Deleon Guimaraes, a senior from Sterling, and Christiane Rodrigues, a sophomore from Hudson, won in the final round of the competition in the university’s Hammond Hall.
“It's hard to express how proud I am of Christiane and Amanda,” said Professor Paul I. Weizer of the university’s Economics, History and Political Science Department. “They were outstanding representatives of the university. They won with grace and distinction. But this was also a real team effort. All eight of the student competitors share in this victory. They worked together and supported each other all semester. During our class practices, they sharpened each other's skills and spent countless hours outside of class working together to ensure each would deliver their best effort at the competition.”
In the preliminary rounds, Deleon Guimaraes and Rodrigues beat teams from Marist College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Western Connecticut. In the elimination rounds, they defeated teams from Bentley University, The College of the Holy Cross, and California State University at Fullerton.
“It was a truly dominating performance,” said Weizer. “During the competition, they won 25 of a possible 29 ballots. They won both their quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, 6-1, and won the final round, 5-0.
“Going in, I knew that Christiane and Amanda were excellent,” said Weizer. “But, I also know that many excellent teams are competing throughout the country and at our regional. It was wonderful to see their hard work pay off. Watching them in the final round was very gratifying. They were dominant and very deserving champions.”
Deleon Guimaraes and Rodrigues will now represent Fitchburg State in the preliminary round of the National Tournament at the Memphis School of Law in Memphis, Tenn., on January 24 and 25. The full tournament schedule is here: https://www.amcamootcourt.org/25-26-tournament-schedule
“We just want to give it our all,” said Deleon Guimaraes. “Of course, it will only get harder from here, but we can only get better from here, too. Winning and taking home more trophies would be amazing, but I couldn’t be happier already. I know it’ll be an amazing experience, and I couldn’t be prouder and honored to share it all with Cris.”
“The goal is, as always, to give it our all,” Rodrigues. “If that means winning and taking home the trophy, amazing. If it means making it through one round, that’s great, too. Either way, we’re bringing everything we’ve got.”
Rodrigues is enrolled in Fitchburg State’s pre-law 3+3 program, through which she will be able to earn her bachelor’s and law degrees in six years, saving a full year of undergraduate tuition and fees.
Rodrigues said she has so many emotions racing through her after winning the regional.
“Shock, because it honestly didn’t hit me until after it happened,” she said. “Excitement for what’s coming next. Gratitude for our amazing coaches, my incredible moot court partner, my family and their support, and to God. And satisfaction, just knowing that all the hard work truly paid off.”
Deleon Guimaraes plans to take some time after graduating to prepare for law school.
“The most exciting part for me was that the final was against an all-female team,” said Deleon Guimaraes. “I was especially excited that my mom was there; she went to every round and is a huge supporter of me. As a daughter of immigrants, I always strive to make my family proud, and I was so happy to share this moment with her. Christiane, my partner, is amazing, and I was super proud and excited to share this moment with her. All semester, we had worked so hard together, and seeing it pay off was really unbelievable.”
Success didn’t happen because of luck. Hard work was the calling card to regional glory.
“I spent all summer reading and reviewing the record, studying the case at bar and the supporting cases, drafting briefs – about 8 to 10 hours a week,” said Rodrigues. “And then this past month or so, practicing and refining our arguments has been about the same amount of time, if not more per week, and definitely more meetings with my partner. It was a ton of work, but it’s so relieving to see it paid off.”
Teams of students from across New England and beyond competed in the regional tournament, which simulates an appellate court proceeding as students make arguments before a panel of judges. The judges include legal experts from the region, including Fitchburg State alumni who have competed in the tournament over its 25-year history on campus (but the judges do not know where the students are from as they make their arguments).
Weizer also credits his two assistant coaches, Tina Brigham and Christine Hudson, for all their hard work helping prepare each student for competition.
“They are the best in the business and also deserve praise,” said Weizer. “Both made a significant commitment, in both time and expertise, for very little compensation because they care about our students and wanted to see them succeed. We do not have this success without them.”
Deleon Guimaraes said she’s extremely appreciative of her teammate, and the help of the coaches and the leadership and expertise of Professor Weizer.
“I’m so honored that Cris and I can do this with our coaches, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us,” said Deleon Guimaraes. “We’re also so happy to bring this win for the school in its 25th year of the Moot Court program, and for Dr. Weizer, who brought this to the school and made this incredible program what it is.”
Questions concerning a legal challenge to a public university's affirmative action policy—which aims to increase the number of women in law enforcement and national security—were debated by students at the American Moot Court Association's Eastern Regional tournament. The hypothetical case this year had a second issue, addressing the First Amendment rights of public employees.
Fitchburg State was one of 17 regionals held nationwide.
The list of schools which competed in the regional held at Fitchburg State were: Bentley University, Cal-State Fullerton, Cal-State Long Beach, College of the Holy Cross, Emerson College, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Liberty University, Marist University, Merrimack College, University of Pennsylvania, and Western Connecticut State University.
Fitchburg State’s last Eastern Regional Undergraduate Moot Court Tournament champion was Keith Greiner and Lauren McGuirk in 2002. Last year’s winner was Ryan Tung and Lucia Zhang from the University of Southern California.