Hafa adai and Tirow!
WelcometotheNMISupremeCourt’s2ndAnnual HighSchoolMootCourtCompetition!MootCourtisa competitiveprogramdesignedtosimulatetheworkthat anattorneywilldoonacasethathasbeenappealed. Competitorsarerequiredtogivea7-13minutelegal argumentrequestingtheappellatecourttoeitheraffirm oroverturnadecisionbythetrialcourtbelow.Student advocatescompeteinteamsoftwo,arguingfortheir sideontwoseparatelegalissuesinfrontofapanelof justices.
Duringtheirargument,competitorsmust bepreparedtoansweravarietyoflegal andfactualquestionsfromthejustices, defendingtheirposition.
Case Summary
Sabrina Katpinteru v. Biba Regional Aerial Transport
Sabrina,apilot,suedherformeremployer,BRATAir,forreligious discrimination after the company refused to accommodate her requestforSaturdaysoffduetoherfaith.BRATAircountersued, alleging that Sabrina breached the non-compete clause in her employmentcontractbyacceptingajobflyingthesameroutefor itscompetitor,SwiftAir,onadifferentdayoftheweek.
Sabrinaarguesthatthetrialcourtappliedthewrongstandard fordeterminingwhetherarequestforaccommodationwould createanunduehardshipforanemployer.Shearguesthat BRATAirviolatedSIRENA,thelocallawprohibitingreligious discriminationintheworkplaceandthatthetrialcourterredin finding that the non-compete clause in her employment contractwasenforceableagainsther.
2024 Participating High Schools
30Studentsfrom3differenthighschoolscompeteforthe2024MootCourt Championship.
Marianas High School Mount Carmel School Saipan International School
Student Advocates
DaniceFernando
SavannahFlores
MontreyGermance
GrantLi
KellyLian
StevenLian
FrancesLicda
SarahLim
JiaNicdao
BranredPamintuan
YejinSon
JuliaTaitano
RickyTang
JennyZhang
Teacher Coach & Advisor
StephenWoodruff
Student Advocates
CarlyDelaCruz ChristopherDelaCruz
Teacher Coach & Advisor ChrisKwarciany
Student Advocates
AsaBacke
Jinhyun(Felix)Choi
LyaKim
ScarlettKim
KyleKramer
CharlieLi
EvaLizunova
CelinePark
IrenePark
VictorNashSantos
LibbyTom
HooWang
JackyZhen
ZiHao(Michael)Zhou
Teacher Coach & Advisor StaciaBeiniks
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Volunteer Justices
JudgeLillianAda-Tenorio RetiredJudgeDavidA.Wiseman
DavidG.Banes
RachelBlue
CarmenV.Borja
MatthewJ.Brown
GregCenac
KarieComstock
MollyDennert
ChrisHeeb
KassandraKnoff
HyunJaeLee
BruceMailman
SavanaManglona-Jefferson
JoeyMcDoulett
TinaNgo
JeanneRayphand
CharlesReyes,Jr.
GretchenSmith
EmilyThomsen
VictorinoTorres
NicoleTorres-Ripple
SamanthaVickery
MichaelA.White
RebeccaWiggins
Awards
The following awards will be presented at the
Awards Ceremony
2024 Moot Court Champions Finalists
The Perpetual Championship Award, Lady Hustisia, will be awarded to the Champions’ high school. The Champions earn the honor of representing the Northern Mariana Islands at the Regional Tournament of the National Association of Moot Court at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, on April 5-6, 2025.
Each of the four finalist competitors will be awarded a personal trophy in recognition of their exemplary performance and advancement to the Championship Round of the Competition.
Semi-Finalists
Each competitor from the two semi-finalist teams who did not advance to the Championship Round will be awarded medals commending their admirable performance during the first day of Competition and the Semi-Final Round.
Best Oral Advocate & Honorable Mentions
The Best Oral Advocate medal is presented to the individual participant who presented the best oral argument in all rounds of the Competition, as scored by the Justices. One award will be presented each to the top competitor from the Appellants and Appellees.
The Honorable Mention medals are awarded to the top individual competitors who did not move on to the semi-final rounds, one each for Appellants and Appellees.
Best Brief
This award is presented to the team with the best written brief, as judged blindly by the Tournament Organizers. All teams submitted a written brief of their argument in November. The winning team’s brief was the most persuasive: effectively crafting unique arguments on behalf of their client while applying skills developed throughout the Moot Court Program and correctly using case law to support their positions.
Certificates of
Completion
In order to compete, each student had to read and analyze more than 50 pages of court decisions, submit a written appellate brief, craft an oral presentation, and prepare to answer any question posed by a panel of judges and attorneys. Simply making it to competition day reflects a significant effort and accomplishment. Each competitor will receive a certificate commending this sizable achievement, as well as their commitment to the program and betterment of their advocacy skills.
National Associaton of Moot Court
NMIMootCourtChampionswillhavetheopportunity tocompeteagainstotherhighschoolteamsfromacross theworldintheNAMCRegionalTournamentinNew Haven,Connecticut.
Studentadvocateswilltakeonanewcaseproblem, Joshi v. Meyers Petroleum,askingwhetheraprivatepartyhas standingandwhetheraJudgemustdisqualifyhimself.
RegionalTournament
YaleUniversity
April5-6,2025
