Frederick Douglass Moot Court Win
New York, March 31, 2012—After sweeping the qualifying regional competition, the Columbia Law School teams nabbed four of the six awards at the national championship of the 2011-2012 Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition (FDMCC). Created and administered by the National Black Law Students Association, the annual Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition focuses primarily on public law and topics of particular relevance to law students of color.
This year’s competition began with more than a hundred teams from law schools across the country and only the top 18 (three teams from each of the six regions) continued to the final, national round, which was held in Washington, DC as part of the NBLSA’s annual convention March 7-11.
In qualifying for the national level, the Columbia Law School teams, consisting entirely of 1Ls, took home all the awards at the Northeast Black Law Students Association’s regional competition in late January. Demetri Blaisdell ’14 and Dinah Manning ’14 won the regional match and Jarrell Mitchell ’14 and Jack Starcher ’14 came in second. Starcher also received the Best Oral Advocate award. In addition to securing the third spot for the national competition, Amal Deria ’14 and Miheer Mhatre ’14 also were recognized for the Best Respondent Brief, while fellow classmates Coy Estres Brewer III and Valerie Chisara Ezie received the Best Petitioner Brief award.
Front row (left to right): Jack Starcher, Amal Deria, Tabisa Walwema (BLSA Rep at the Convention, Regional Team Member), Funmi Showole (BLSA Rep, former Fred Doug National Competitor)
Champion: Columbia Law School, Demetri Blaisdell and Dinah Manning
First Runner-up: Columbia Law School, Jarrell Mitchell and Jack Starcher
Second Runner-up: Columbia Law School, Amal Deria and Miheer Mhatre
Individual & Brief Awards
Best Petitioner Brief: Columbia Law School, Demetri Blaisdell and Dinah Manning
Best Respondent Brief: Columbia Law School, Amal Deria and Miheer Mhatre
Best Oral Advocate: Columbia Law School, Jack Starcher
Second Runner-up: Columbia Law School, Jarrell Mitchell and Jack Starcher