Saginaw Valley State University’s Moot Court has seen recent success, with some members advancing to Nationals. The competition, which will be held at the University of Kentucky College of Law, will range from Jan. 19-20.
Students Nikolas Baker, Diva Patel, Peyton Stemmerich, Ethan Rose, Kennedy Kreger, and Jeffery Ramsey will represent SVSU at the next section of the moot court competition.
When asked to describe Moot court, Diva Patel, 4th year Political Science & CMBS Major said:
“Moot Court is a three-credit course offered at SVSU where students simulate an argument in the form of the US Supreme Court,” she said. “[They do this by] utilizing a hypothetical case and supporting the arguments with real cases decided by the Supreme Court.”
Patel described the case currently in discussion,
“Ms. Mindy Vo, a resident of the state of Olympus and a member of the Church of Balance (that believes in contraception use as a part of their ideology) broke Olympus law,” she said, “The law in question is the “REAP WHAT YOU SOW ACT” which bans all forms of temporary contraceptives except male and female condoms.
Patel continued her explanation.
“The State passed this law in response to the 35% STI rate in their state.” She said. “The question is whether the law violates Ms. Vo’s rights to privacy and rights to free exercise of religion.”
Kennedy Kreger, Political Science and Criminal Justice major explained the impact moot court has had on them, stating,
“By competing against other schools at the tournament I was able to hear different arguments which allowed me to see different ways of thinking about different facts within the case as well as different ways of making a compelling argument,” Kreger said. “Personally, I learned that to be successful it is important that you believe in yourself.”
Kreger continued, explaining how they’ve grown in their abilities.
“I went into this tournament with a vastly different mindset than I did last year,” Kreger said. “This year I was confident as I have spent quite a bit of time working on my public speaking skills and working on my knowledge of the case. At the end of the day, you can only do your best so it is important that you walk in believing in yourself and give it your all.”
Patel also explained about her personal experience,
“I learned a lot from this experience, especially to not doubt myself in how much knowledge I had about the case problem and the case law,” Patel said. “I was worried about not being able to memorize the information, but because we spent so much time discussing the case problem and case law, I knew a lot more than I thought I did and was able to deliver my arguments without any notes the entire weekend.”
Patel also spoke about how the competition impacted their view of themselves, stating,
“I also did not expect to win the regional competition we competed at, which taught me a lesson in not doubting myself and my capabilities,” Patel stated. “Professionally, it has helped me with being able to be an effective public speaker and to be able to express my ideas clearly and in a way that is easy to understand.”
Kevin G. Lorentz II, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Co-Coach of the Moot
Court team and SVSU Alum has coached for SVSU since 2021 but has previous experience with the SVSU Moot Court team.
“I was a competitor for SVSU’s moot court team during my undergraduate days,” Lorentz stated. “Coaches help competitors in myriad ways, from formulating arguments to practicing and polishing their oral advocacy.”
Lorentz explained the Moot court season.
“The beginning of the season is focused on preparing students to develop and craft their own arguments in response to the year’s case problem, a hypothetical Supreme Court case,” He said. “This includes not only dissecting the case problem itself but also exploring the relevant constitutional law (“jurisprudence”) associated with the case problem.”
He continued:
“Students are given a set of prior Supreme Court cases to use when making their arguments, and they are expected to know them fully,” he explained. “Mid-season, we transition to oral advocacy, where competitors give their arguments before a mock bench of judges, practicing their forensics as well as how they respond to judges’ questions.”
Lorentz also explained how the competitions are structured once students have prepared.
“Regional competitions occur in November, and students must be ready to argue both sides of the case (one for the petitioner, or the party who has appealed the case to the Supreme Court, and one for the respondent, or the party who won in the lower court),” he said. “As coaches, we try to both prepare students through practicing but also to simulate actual competitions by serving as judges and peppering students with questions and critiquing their performances.”
When asked about his favorite part of moot court, Lorentz said that,
“For me, it is seeing students grow from the start to the end of the semester (and, for repeat students, seeing their growth year over year),” he said. “I really enjoy seeing how students start the semester barely having read a court case, let alone understanding the contours of the law, and then by the end of the semester engaging and excelling in complex legal discussions about constitutional issues.”
On reflection to his personal experiences, he stated,
“I think the biggest insight I have gained as a coach is that ordinary Americans can and should have these conversations about the law and what it means,” Lorentz said. “While many competitors do go onto law school or legal-adjacent fields, not all competitors do, but they still gain a deep appreciation for constitutional issues and can fully participate in these discussions with their fellow citizens over the course of their professional careers and personal lives.”
