During the 2003-2004 year, the Black Law Students Association (“BLSA”) of Santa Clara University School of Law (“SCU”) participated in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition (“FDMCC”). Sponsored by the National Black Law Students Association (“NBLSA”), FDMCC is one of the largest and most prestigious national student-run appellate advocacy competitions. The members of the SCU BLSA team were Carol Gachiengo and Vivian Ware with Randy Webb serving as their advisor and team coach. The issues argued for the competition included areas of immigration law and the exclusionary rule of the Fourth Amendment. During October and November 2003, the team carefully prepared briefs for the competition and submitted them to the national organization.
The team recently participated in the oral advocacy competition at the Western Regional NBLSA Convention in Las Vegas, NV on February 12-15. Each team was prepared to argue both sides of their issue through the preliminary rounds. The SCU team participated in the first two preliminary rounds and advanced to the semi-final rounds of the competition. Although the team performed well in the semi-final round, they did not qualify to compete in the final round of competition. However, at the awards banquet ceremony, the team was awarded third place and received a plaque for the Best Petitioner Brief in the competition.
The achievements of the SCU BLSA team mark the first time in over five years that this chapter has sent a moot court team to compete in the Regional Competition. The SCU BLSA chapter hopes to build on this success by sending future teams to participate in the competition for years to come.
