Seven SVC students participate in mock Supreme Court arguments

LATROBE, PA - Participating in a mock Supreme Court argument is a staple for every first-year law school student. Bruce Antkowiak, J.D., professor and legal counsel for Saint Vincent College, makes sure his students gain that experience while they're still undergrads.

Last week, seven students from Antkowiak's Constitutional Litigation class wrapped up the spring semester by making oral arguments on a complex issue of constitutional law. The students- sophomore Anton Seifert; junior Caleb Banwar; and seniors Sophia Bringman, Cera Hissem, Jacob Mock, Rebekah Bollman and J'Shawn Taylor-stated their cases before a panel of three "judges" that consisted of two attorneys and a magisterial judge.

"We analyze constitutional issues, not from so much just the academic perspective, but how to structure arguments in a constitutional case," said Antkowiak, who's used the exercise in his class the past several years. "I come up with some bizarre hypothetical and let them write a brief and then present an oral argument about it."

For this semester's case, Antkowiak devised a scenario in which the state of Pennsylvania requires couples to commit to raising a child to qualify for a marriage license, and an infertile couple and a same-sex couple challenge the law as unconstitutional.

The students formed teams, taking the side of either the appellant or appellee. Throughout the semester, they drafted briefs and reply briefs and the course culminated with an oral argument before a panel of judges-a simple simulation of what one might face when presenting oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court. The judges ask questions that test the students' ability to present a case, pivot and respond on the fly. It's like writing a thesis and defending it.

"These [students] did better than most of the arguments that I have to sit through when I go down to Superior Court and listen to a case," Antkowiak said.

The students were cross-examined by Eileen Flinn, C'90, assistant general counsel for Saint Vincent College and Archabbey; Adam Cogan, an attorney and adjunct professor at Saint Vincent College; and the Honorable Tamara Mahady, Westmoreland County magisterial judge.

"I went through this my senior year here at Saint Vincent," Flinn said. "It was nerve wracking, but it absolutely prepared me for when I had to go through it during my first year of law school."

This fall, a group of Saint Vincent students-including Mock, Banwar, Bollman and Seifer-will compete in the American Moot Court Association competition.