Moot Court 2nd Place - Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition

L-R: Teri Nguyen (student coach); Neil Perry; Josh Deitz; Vishali Singal

Josh Deitz, Neil Perry, and Vishali Singal placed second in the country at last weekend's national Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition, held April 2-4, 2009 at Brooklyn Law School.  In addition, Josh Deitz was voted the Best Oralist in the Final Round by the panel of distinguished circuit court judges.  The team of Hastings 3Ls competed against 35 other teams from law schools like Georgetown University Law Center and New York University School of Law. 

This year’s Prince competition had students grappling with advanced evidentiary issues, such as the scope of a federal psychotherapist-patient testimonial privilege and whether specific Biblical passages are impermissible “external” evidence that are barred from juror deliberations.  The exciting final round was presided over by Judge Duane Benton (8th Circuit), Judge Susan Graber (9th Circuit), and Judge Dennis Jacobs (2nd Circuit).  In fact, Judge Graber authored an en banc opinion in one of the key cases on the privilege topic.  Arguing for Respondent in the final round, Neil Perry artfully handled the delicate task of persuading the panel that the 9th Circuit's reasoning in that key case should be rejected.

The Moot Court Department congratulates the team on a fantastic performance at the competition and in the final round, and thanks student coach Teri Nguyen and faculty supervisor Stephen Tollafield for their guidance and support.  This weekend's victory at Brooklyn Law School continues a long tradition of success by Hastings teams at this prestigious national moot court competition.  Great work!