internal Competitions

Copeland, Cook, Taylor, and Bush Appellate Advocacy Competition

The Moot Court Board hosts its Copeland, Cook, Taylor, and Bush Appellate Advocacy Tournament annually.  The tournament is comprised of second-year Mississippi College law students seeking membership to the Board.  After writing a brief as part of the school’s appellate advocacy course, competitors participate in two rounds of arguments which are judged by three-member panels that include local judges, practitioners, faculty, and Board members.  Next, the competitors receive a final score based upon a combination of their briefs and the two rounds of arguments.  In addition, the top sixteen scores advance to a seeded, bracket-style tournament which culminates in semifinal and final rounds.  These final rounds take place in an actual court room setting with five-member panels which often include multiple Federal Judges and Mississippi Supreme Court Justices.  
In 2007, with Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Edith Jones presiding and other members of the Fifth Circuit and CCTB judging, MCSOL students Ashley Nader and Shirley Moore competed in the final argument of the Competition. Along with Chief Judge Jones, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges E. Grady Jolly and Leslie Southwick joined CCTB members Glenn Taylor and Bill Leech on the final argument judging panel.  Nader ultimately emerged victorious in the competition comprised of over 100 second year students.  Along with Nader and Moore, other CCTB Competition awards were presented to the following students:
Best Overall Brief: Nicholas Morisani
Best Petitioner Brief: Mason Montgomery
Best Respondent Brief: Denita Smith

Best Overall Oralist: Ashley Nader
Best On-Brief Oralist: Tray Hairston
Best Off-Brief Oralist: Lindsey Oswalt

Shirley Moore, Dean Jim Rosenblatt, and Ashley Nader	Ashley Nader and Shirley Moore pictured with CCTB final panel of judges: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Edith Jones, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges E. Grady Jolly and Leslie Southwick, and Glenn Taylor and Bill Leech of CCTB in The Old Mississippi Supreme Court Chambers in The New Mississippi State Capitol.
Nader and Moore preparing for the final argument of the CCTB competition.	Governor Musgrove, current shareholder at CCTB and John Nisbett presenting Mason Montgomery with the award for Best Petitioner Brief.
Governor Musgrove, current shareholder at CCTB and John Nisbett presenting Denita Smith with the award for Best Respondent Brief.	Governor Musgrove, current shareholder at CCTB and John Nisbett presenting Nicholas Morisani with the award for Best Overall Brief.
Governor Musgrove, current shareholder at CCTB and John Nisbett presenting Lindsey Oswalt with the award for Best Off-Brief Oralist.	Governor Musgrove, current shareholder at CCTB and John Nisbett presenting Tray Hairston with the award for Best On-Brief Oralist.
Governor Musgrove, current shareholder at CCTB and John Nisbett presenting Shirley Moore with the award for CCTB Finalist.	Governor Musgrove, current shareholder at CCTB and John Nisbett presenting Ashley Nader with the award for CCTB Overall Winner.

Click here to view final arguments from previous years.