Notre Dame College and its prelaw students are once again preparing to showcase their legal advocacy skills on U.S. Constitution and Citizenship Day.
The College’s Moot Court co-curricular team members will present the 2019-2020 American Moot Court Association (AMCA) case before a panel of esteemed attorneys to be led by Geoffrey J. Ritts, J.D., partner, Jones Day, and vice chair of the Notre Dame Board of Trustees, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 15, in the Performing Arts Center on the College campus. Joining Ritts on the bench will be attorney Walter Benson, J.D., from Akron, who has litigated before the U.S. Supreme Court on several capital murder cases, and Mary-Michele Coleman Walsh, J.D., a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law and director of the Office of Academic Affairs at the College.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a reception in the Administration Building foyer.
The simulated AMCA case the students will present on Constitution Day looks at whether a fictional defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated by obtaining cellphone records without a warrant and whether the Sixth Amendment right to confront an accuser was violated by the introduction of hearsay declarations. The hypothetical legal action concerns sexually explicit material on the mobile device.
The Notre Dame moot court students also spent a day of active learning as guests of the Ohio Supreme Court in September. They heard appellate arguments in the current case of Columbus City Schools Board of Education v. Franklin County, Ohio, Board of Revision; Franklin County Auditor; Ohio Tax Commissioner; and Palmer House Borrower, LLC, of Franklin. The case is a complaint regarding procedural issues for determining the value of property for tax purposes.
The students also met with Michael P. Donnelly, the 160th justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Donnelly took office in January 2019, following his statewide election in November 2018. He previously served on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and as an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor in Northeast Ohio.
The following students comprise Notre Dame’s 2019-2020 Moot Court program: Jordan Benson, Rico Blackman, Dennis Bunch, Antonio Delgado, Athena Eli, Katherine Esser, Athene Goodman, Jordan Mochko, Alexis Nelson, Remik Niewiarowski, Katie Petro, Paige Staudacher, Alyssa Soltis, Lukas Thompson and Breanna Tolbert.
About Constitution and Citizenship Day
Constitution and Citizenship Day is an American federal holiday honoring the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787, and recognizing all who have become citizens of the United States.
Congress established the American federal holiday in 2004. Since then, all institutions that receive federal funding have been required to provide educational programming related to the history of the U.S. Constitution on or around the day.
About Notre Dame’s Moot Court Program
Established in 2011, Notre Dame’s co-curricular prelaw moot court program has qualified for national competitions in four of its first seven years of existence.
The College and its moot court students also partner with local law schools to host a national qualifying AMCA tournament and moot court oral argument scrimmage sessions each year that draw teams from across the country.
Moot court is a method of teaching law and legal skills by requiring students to analyze and argue both sides of a hypothetical legal issue using state and federal appellate court procedures.
September 2019
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 Brian Johnston, chief communications officer, at 216.373.5252 or bjohnston@ndc.edu.