Second OWU Team Earns Bid to Compete in National Moot Court Tournament
Juniors Chloe Dyer and Forest Dearing Headed to California in January
DELAWARE, Ohio – Two more Ohio Wesleyan University students will head to Long Beach, California, in January after earning a bid to compete in the American Collegiate Moot Court Association national tournament.
Juniors Chloe Dyer of Guysville, Ohio, and Forest Dearing of Louisville, Kentucky, finished sixth in the recent Midwest Regional moot court competition in Wooster, Ohio, earning a chance to compete in the Jan. 14-16 national championships, where they will continue to hone their skills in preparing for and arguing court cases. Dearing also won honors for ninth best individual orator.
“The Dyer-Dearing team worked hard and finished strong,” said politics and government professor and pre-law advisor Michael Esler, Ph.D., who coaches OWU’s moot court teams. “Both were arguing for the first time, but even if they had been veterans, the quality of their arguments, their poise, and their ability to answer questions would have been remarkable.”
Joining them in the Golden State will be the team of OWU seniors Katherine Berger of Sunbury, Ohio, and Rhiannon Herbert of Mentor, Ohio, who previously qualified for the national tournament during the Great Lakes Regional competition held in Saginaw, Michigan.
Three of Ohio Wesleyan’s eight moot court teams competed in Midwest Regional competition, Esler said. The team of seniors Alex Pavlechko of Columbus, Ohio, and Matt McCord of New Hudson, Michigan, finished ninth, with McCord earning additional honors as the 19th best individual orator.
“The veteran team of Pavlechko-McCord just missed qualifying for the nationals, although they stand an outside chance for receiving an at-large bid,” Esler said. “They were experienced and worked at their own pace. They were ready for the tournament and racked up a lot of wins. It was a good way to go out.”
Juniors Jessica Choate of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Allison DeLooze of Chesterland, Ohio, also competed and received honorable mention for their efforts.
The American Collegiate Moot Court Association is the premier moot court competition for undergraduates, Esler said, simulating an appellate court hearing in which teams of two “attorneys” argue constitutional issues before a panel of lawyers and judges who portray Supreme Court justices. This year’s issues involved the free exercise of religion and equal protection rights of undocumented persons in the country illegally.
To learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s moot court program, contact Esler at mvesler@owu.edu, or visit www.owu.edu to learn more about the university’s pre-law major.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 87 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,675 students represent 43 U.S. states and territories and 33 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.