Prep Talk

Constitutional Law Class Presents Moot Court Exercise

Posted May 4th, 2022

By Hunter Clark ’22

 

On Friday, April 22, eight students had the unique opportunity to argue a case in the fourth Moot Court Exercise at St. Augustine Prep. To create a realistic court simulation, students and faculty were joined by the Honorable Linda A. Cartisano of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, to preside over the argument.

Prior to the Moot Court Exercise, participating students from Mr. Jonathan Atmore’s Honors Constitutional Law class, were taken through the steps of a case brief leading up to the Appellate Court argument. St. Augustine Students had the privilege of having two practicing attorneys of law, Mr. Scott Lisgar P’19 ’22 and Mr. Christopher Tinari P’22 who assisted throughout the year in teaching the class, assisted in facilitating the curriculum and organized the event.

I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Atmore, Mr. Tinari, and Mr. Lisgar for the opportunity to be a part of one of the more unique experiences I have had at St. Augustine Prep. Despite being a late addition to my group, the experience of speaking in front of a real judge was well worth the amount of effort needed to prepare for this enjoyable experience.

The case presented by the students was based upon a real Supreme Court case Dunn V. Ray, which questioned the validity of the state’s interpretation of the freedoms associated with the first amendment of the United States Constitution. After immense research both in and out of the classroom in collaboration with my peers: Riley Lisgar, Braeden DiFranceisco, and Bradley Bird the amount of time and preparation needed to present a case in front of a judge has proven to become quite fruitful.

Throughout the school year, the experiences I have had in the class, Constitutional Law, have proven to be worthwhile, and this court case is one such example. These experiences are preparing myself and others for future research in college, as well as future careers in law.