Santa Clara law students Colette LeBeau, Kirt Iverson, Efrain Staino, Robert Krupica, and Willa Gelvick competed February 26 to February 29 in the 2009 Pacific Super Regional Rounds of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. This year, Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon hosted the twenty four teams competing in the Pacific Super Regional Rounds. Although the Santa Clara team will not advance to the international finals, the team’s briefs won best briefs all four times the team competed.
The Jessup competition involves a dispute brought before the International Court of Justice by two fictional countries, and is organized by the International Law Student Association (ILSA). This year’s Jessup problem asked competitors to address issues surrounding the legality of humanitarian intervention to prevent genocide or ethnic cleansing, the legality of extradition to countries that practice the death penalty, free speech issues, and questions of State responsibility for the acts of peacekeepers. Students from around the world compete in the Jessup competition with the goal of attending the international rounds in Washington D.C. In the United States, the winner and runner up in the super regional rounds advance to the international rounds.
The Santa Clara Jessup team felt that the Jessup Competition was a wonderful experience. Colette LeBeau noted, "I was so pleased with the whole Jessup experience. It has been, by far, the most enjoyable part of law school for me." Efrain Staino stated "…I was pleased to see that all the teams we faced were very skillful and well prepared. The caliber of the Jessup competition is clearly very high."
