Eight BYU Law students competed in an international Moot Court competition in Bologna, Italy, 6-7 March 2018. The competition was organized by the European Academy of Religion in collaboration with the International Consortium for Law & Religion Studies.
Teams from the United States and Europe argued a case before the European Court of Human Rights or the Supreme Court of the United States. The BYU law students were divided into two teams and argued before both. Pre-eminent scholars and actual judges from both jurisdictions made up the two Courts. European Court of Human Rights judges were Silvio Ferrari, Professor of Law and Religion at the University of Milan (Italy), Mark Hill QC, Professor at the University of Cardiff (UK), Pretoria (South Africa), Notre Dame (Australia), and Ann Power, former Judge of the European Court of Human Rights. The Supreme Court of the United States judges were Michael P. Moreland, Professor at Villanova University, Jerry E. Smith, Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and Michael J. Wilkins, former Justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
Shelise Rupp, one of the members of BYU’s Moot Court team, said, “This competition was a great opportunity to develop my oral argument skills, to interact with and learn from incredible judges and scholars, and to meet law students from around the world. And while all that alone would have been amazing, the chance to do it all in beautiful and historic Italy was incredible. It was a wonderful experience!”
Students representing BYU Law were Joe Moxon, Joshua Prince, Shelise Rupp, Jessica Farnsworth, Justin Miller, Jacob Crump, Sara Plater, and Malea Moody. ICLRS Associate Director Elizabeth Clark organized and consulted with the students.