La Verne Law Students Excel at USD Moot Court Competition

Lauren Vogt and Veronica Rivas-Mittino participated in the USD School of Law 29th National Criminal Procedure Tournament in San Diego November 10-12, earning praise for their outstanding skills and bringing home a third place finish.

Hosted by the University of San Diego, the National Criminal Procedure Tournament is recognized as a highly competitive tournament, drawing skilled students from across the country. The competition provides students with an opportunity not only to showcase their writing and oral argument skills but also to research complex legal concepts independently and to meet other students and faculty from across the country. Competitors from 40 schools drafted an appellate brief on cutting edge criminal procedure issues and then presented oral argument across three days. Students were judged equally on their brief writing skills and oral advocacy in the preliminary rounds, with brief scores continuing to play a smaller role in the later rounds while oral advocacy took center stage.

Competition was fierce, but Ms. Rivas-Mittino and Ms. Vogt used their formidable talents to make it all the way to the semi-finals, beating out students from 37 other schools. This impressive finish was the result of hard work and dedication on the part of the competitors, as well as the support of faculty, other students, and, of course, their coach, Professor Dean McVay, who supported them tirelessly throughout the entire semester, was present at the competition, and cheered them along throughout.