News & Events

Teams head to Chicago for ABA competition finals

March 6, 2013

Contact: Barbara Peck, (614) 292-0283

 

For the first time in at least 12 years, two moot court teams from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law have advanced to the finals of the American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition, slated for April 4-6 in Chicago.

The ABA Scarlet and Grey moot court teams, comprised entirely of 3Ls, competed in a regional competition held Feb. 28 through March 2 in Boston.

The ABA Grey team, consisting of Jason Grenell, Caitlin Murphy, and Kristine Murphy, were underdogs, seeded 15th in the elimination bracket. They won four straight rounds over Stetson University, The University of Mississippi, fourth-seeded Duke University, and seventh-seeded Ohio Northern University to advance to nationals.

The ABA Scarlet team, consisting of Nikki Baszynski, Ashley Johns, and Christina Karam went undefeated through the entire tournament. Seeded fifth in the elimination bracket, they beat Case Western Reserve University, Barry University, South Texas College of Law, Stetson University, and sixth-seeded University of Georgia to advance to the finals. The team also was recognized with the fourth Best Brief Award, and Baszynski placed eighth in “Best Advocate.”

The teams are coached by Christopher M. Fairman, the Alumni Society Designated Professor of Law.

The topics covered in this year’s competition include false arrest, malicious prosecution, and the Fourth Amendment.

It involves whether a child abuse investigator, who conducts a haphazard investigation, including violations of state law and regulations, is entitled to absolute immunity from a civil suit by a wrongfully accused man because the investigator testified before a grand jury that then issued the an indictment. If not, is the investigator entitled to qualified immunity for suit because she was acting within her discretion as a public official? These questions of immunity have troubled the Supreme Court and lower courts for decades, and the problem is situated squarely into the creases of uncertainty in the law.

News Archives

2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001