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The Notre Dame College undergraduate Moot Court program has earned a total of 10 individual and team awards and qualified the second straight year for national championships in 2021.

The College advanced the team of senior Athene Goodman and junior Dennis Bunch to the American Collegiate Moot Court Association national finals in January. Notre Dame finished 25th out of the 42 colleges and universities competing in the championship tournament.  The duo of Goodman and Bunch beat Texas A & M University in the opening round of nationals before losing a split-bench decision to the eventual national runner-up team from University of California-Long Beach. Notre Dame was eliminated from the tournament by Bentley University from Boston, Mass.

In addition to their work with the co-curricular moot court team, Goodman is a first-generation student at the College and Bunch also participates in performing arts choral programs.

Successful Season

During the 2020-2021 season, the College’s moot court team members earned four individual orator awards for students who finished in the top 15 percent of all litigators at their qualifying tournament. In addition to Goodman, junior Jordan Benson and seniors Austin Mora and Katie Pietro were recognized for their litigation performances.

Notre Dame also won a total of six awards for two student duos who finished in the top 16 and for one pair who finished in the top 8 at qualifying tournaments. Along with Goodman, Benson, Mora and Pietro, Bunch and sophomore Alex Rapp earned the top honors.

This season, the students litigated the ACMA case of First Amendment compelled speech and freedom of assembly that focused on an individual business owner’s decision not to provide services to a same-sex marriage ceremony resulting in termination.

Moot Court Method

Moot court is a method of teaching law and advocacy skills by requiring students to analyze and argue both sides of a hypothetical legal issue using state and federal appellate court procedures.

The AMCA is the largest intercollegiate moot court organization in the United States. In competition, undergraduate students litigate against an opposing student team and before a panel of career judges, attorneys, law professors and legal experts. The pairs are evaluated based on jurisprudence of legal precedent, knowledge of case law and oratorical presentations skills.

February 2021

 

 

About Notre Dame College

For almost a century, Notre Dame College has educated a diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional and global responsibility. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the College has grown strategically to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of students and the dramatic changes in higher education. But it has never lost sight of its emphasis on teaching students not only how to make a good living but also how to live a good life.

Today, the College offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. Notre Dame College offers NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletic programs for men and women and is located in a picturesque residential neighborhood just 25 minutes from the heart of Cleveland. Hallmarks of the Notre Dame experience include stimulating academics, personalized attention of dedicated faculty and staff, and small class sizes.

Notre Dame College is located at 4545 College Road in South Euclid. For further information, contact pr@ndc.edu.