October 03, 2008
Before a nearly full gallery in the Moot Court Room and a panel
of distinguished jurists, four of the top 2L oral advocates of the
St. John’s University School of Law Moot Court Honor Society argued
to the Supreme Court of the United States the case of Gloria
Esteban v. Old York University at the annual Hon. Milton Mollen
Competition.
Advocating for the free speech rights of the petitioner were
Christopher Hunker and Christine Gulino, who argued that the $200
restriction on campaign spending imposed on candidates by the
University was a violation of Ms. Esteban’s rights and unreasonable
under the Supreme Court’s “forum analysis”. Defending the practices
of the University as reasonable restrictions considering the nature
of the forum were Danelco Moxey and Eric Greenbaum.
While the advocates manifested the impressive oral advocacy
skills they learned from Judge Gerald Lebovits and honed in recent
internal competition rounds, they faced a hot bench of seasoned
judges who themselves have impressive records as advocates.
Chief Justice Milton Mollen (’50) – the retired presiding
justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate
Division, Second Department – asked each competitor multiple
questions that frequently required impromptu responses.
Joining Justice Mollen on the bench were two other well-known
and highly respected judges from the federal bench, Hon. Joseph
Bianco of the United States District Court for the Eastern District
of New York and Hon. P. Kevin Castel of the United States District
Court for the Southern District of New York. During their
closing comments, Judge Castel remarked that Judge Bianco was
“throwing his high-heat” at the competitors, prompting Judge Mollen
to note that Judge Castel did his part to keep the advocates
on their toes. All the judges agreed that the program continues to
improve and that the competitors are on par with attorneys who
present oral argument in the state and federal courts.
When the arguments were over and the rebuttal presented, the
judges retired to chambers to deliberate briefly. The result of the
deliberation was a 2-1 vote in favor of the respondent Old York
University, with best oral advocate going to Danelco Moxey and
second best advocate going to Christopher Hunker. All the
competitors received BarBri certificates. Additional awards were
given for the Tinnelly Competition, which led to the ultimate
selection of the finalists.
The Law School’s Acting Dean, Andrew Simons, who attended the
event along with the St. John’s University Provost Dr. Julie Upton,
gave a final statement thanking the panel for their time and
service and congratulated the Moot Court Honor Society once again
on its hard work and successful production of the Mollen
Competition for a second year.