MACON – Mercer Law School’s team of third-year students Stef Ramirez and Caroline Scalf were finalists at this year’s Instrastate Moot Court Competition hosted at Emory University.
All five law schools in Georgia field two teams each in this annual competition.
Ramirez and Scalf advanced to the final round and lost by a 2.1-point margin to the University of Georgia. They also were recognized for having the second-best brief score in the competition.
“Despite assertive questioning from the bench, both Caroline and Stef answered every question posed with poise and, more importantly, with facts and law,” said Professor Suzianne Painter-Thorne, who coached the team.
The third-highest brief score was awarded to the team of second-year students Autumn DeLee and L’Zandra Jones. While they did not advance to the finals, they earned high praise from the judges in all their competition rounds.
“They were confident, persuasive, knowledgeable and responsive to the bench,” Painter-Thorne said of DeLee and Jones. “Both women have bright futures in the moot court competition and in the legal profession.”
Third-year students Olivia Warner and Caitlin Wise served as student coaches for the competition.
Moot court teams at Mercer Law School have rigorous tryouts a year before the students ever participate in a tournament. Students are selected and coached for weeks prior to competition. This academic year, Mercer Law students have competed in five different moot court competitions across the country.
