The Desmond Competition
For over three decades, this intramural competition gives participants the opportunity to argue a constitutional law case related to matters currently pending before the United States Supreme Court.
The 2022 Charles S. Desmond Moot Court Competition was held Thursday Oct. 27 through Sat. Oc.t 29. After two years of remote competition by Zoom, we were back live in O'Brian Hall. 21 teams (of two students each) participated, a significant increase in student participation from the last couple of years.
The winning team was Matthew Mitchell and Mathew Biondolillo.
Runner-up team was Miriam Trojanovic and Kristen Crow.
The final round was held in the Francis M. Letro Courtroom, with Dean Aviva Abramovsky, Professor Lucinda Finley, and Ass't US Attorney Sean Eldridge ’10 (also an adjunct faculty member) serving as judges.
Best brief award was a tie between team Michael Arena and Nathan Zobrest, and team Tyler Hogan and Ian Hoock.
Runner-up best brief was team Kelly Kulakowski and Tabitha Salonen.
Best oralist: Elizabeth Hughes
Runner-up Oralist: Alex Blanco
The Charles S. Desmond Moot Court Competition is the most prestigious appellate advocacy competition at the law school, attracting several local lawyers and judges to volunteer their time as judges. Accomplished lawyers from Western New York and law school professors judge competitors’ oral arguments in the preliminary and semi-final rounds, while federal and state judges evaluate the finalists. Competitors also submit a written brief formatted using the rules to the United States Supreme Court.
Organized by the School of Law's Buffalo Moot Court Board, the Desmond competition is one of the most popular courtroom competitions the school offers. The competition is open to all second-and third-year law students annually.