Excellence was on display Tuesday night when four seniors argued a case before a panel of judges in the final round of the Moot Court Competition, which is an annual event organized by the Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men and co-sponsored by the Speech Department.
Senior Johnny Warren of Fort Wayne, a past winner of the Baldwin Oratorical Contest, emerged as this year's Moot Court champion in what organizer Todd McDorman called a very competitive final round.
Finalists who survived difficult questioning in the preliminary round on Saturday and Monday night's semi-finals were Warren, Philip Goldstein (Carmel, IN), Chris Miltenberger (West Chester, OH), and Scott Medsker (Sullivan, IN).
"The round itself was very competitive and a case could have been made for any of the competitors emerging as the victor," said McDorman.
Each year, alumni lawyers meet with Wabash faculty to create a real world case for students to study and later argue. This year's problem dealt wtih the constitutionality of a state law prohibiting cross burning with the intent to intimidate a person or group. In the fictional case presented to students, a man was originally convicted for cross burning, but the case was overturned by a state statute allowing freedom of expression.
Warren and Goldstein presented on behalf of the fictional state of Saratoga, while Miltenberger and Medsker argued for the defendant before a panel of "Supreme Court" judges.
Judges for the finals round were the Honorable David F. Hamilton, United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana; the Honorable Nancy H. Vaidik of the Indiana Court of Appeals; the Honorable James R. Williams ’88 of Union Circuit Court; and Wabash Professor of Chemistry David A. Phillips.
Collectively, the four senior finalists had appeared in eight Moot Court finals rounds, and three of them previously had been named first alternates.
"Watching the students and thinking back on my experiences with them in Moot Court and in the classroom, I was immensely impressed by how these four students have blossomed at Wabash — and how much they have to offer society after Wabash," added McDorman. "It might sound cliche, but their potential is truly limitless, a point that was never more clear than during the course of their outstanding performances Tuesday night.