Holy Cross Finishes First and Second at Moot Court Championships

WORCESTER, Mass. – College of the Holy Cross students Katie Manzi '08 and Tania Mistretta '08 took first and second place respectively in the individual competition at this year's American Collegiate Moot Court Association (AMCA) championships, held at Drake Law School in Iowa. In addition, two of the three teams that the College sent to Iowa made it to the final day of trials and finished in the top sixteen out of 64 teams.

This is the first time in the history of the American Moot Court Association that one college finished in both first and second place.

“This was truly a team effort. Tania and I were in this together from the beginning, and I am so proud to call her my partner,” says Manzi, a political science major and co-captain of the Moot Court Team.

Manzi, a Longmeadow, Mass. native, is a member of the Mock Trial Team and co-chair of the Hanify-Howland Memorial Lecture Committee. After she graduates in May, she will be joining JP Morgan Chase & Co. in New York City.  She eventually plans to attend law school and work in the public policy sector.

Mistretta, a political science major and philosophy minor from New York City, is a member of the Mock Trial Team and the Delilah’s, an a cappella group at the College.  As a senior member of both groups she helps to train incoming freshmen.  She’s planning to attend law school next year

“It was no surprise they finished as high as they did.  They earned it and deserved it,” says Scott Sandstrom, associate professor of accounting, who serves as faculty advisor to the Moot Court Team. “They have really made their mark at the College.”

Other winning team members include Michael Whalen '11, Molly Delaney '10, Michael Lobie '09, Lauren Reilly '09, and volunteer coach John O'Donnell, who captained the College’s Mock Trial Team for three years before attending UConn Law School.

“This is a great group of students and it was definitely because of the strength of our entire team that we were able to get this far,” explains Mistretta.

The 2007-08 case that led Manzi and Mistretta to victory concerns the Gun Free School Zone Act of 1997, which is a federal law that prohibits the possession of guns within a school zone.

Moot Court is appellate argument. Unlike Mock Trial which emphasizes legal procedure, strategy decisions, and clarity of presentation, Moot Court tests substantive law. Students must master the nexus of dozens of cases and be able to answer to judges who challenge their application of legal rules or principles.