March 31, 2021

Moot Court Winning Streak Continues at 2021 Charleston School of Law National Moot Court Competition

Please join us in congratulating Moot-ers Tannaz Ghayadi, Zachary Wagner, Melanie Khosravi, and their coach Professor Oliver Vasquez on competing in the 2021 Charleston School of Law National Moot Court Competition on March 4th - 6th, 2021! 

Moot Court Team Charleston showcased a brilliant performance, beating out numerous teams from all over the country and making it to the final round. They ultimately placed Second overall in the competition, with Tannaz Ghayadi winning Best Oralist! 

Tannaz recounts, "Joining the Honors Moot Court Program has been the most rewarding decision I've made through my law school experience.  It is an honor to have advanced to the final round with my team, and receiving the Best Oralist Award was the cherry on top of an incredible year working with Melanie and Zach. I have gained lifelong friends through the course of this competition and will be forever grateful for it."

"Competing at the national level takes hard work, dedication, and resilience. We could not have achieved this without the unmatched support system that the program provides. I want to thank Professor D'Italia, Professor Carpenter, the Board, and our fantastic Coach Oliver Vasquez for shaping us into fearless advocates. Moot Court is not just a program; it's a family, one that I'm blessed to be a part of."

- 2L Tannaz Ghayadi

This year's competition centered around two compelling issues. First, should the Tinker standard apply to non-threatening off-campus student speech allowing a school official to discipline the student based on his off-campus speech if the school official believes the speech is forecasted to cause a disruption in the school? Second, whether a broad right of a student to exercise free speech off-campus under the First Amendment constitutes a "clearly established" right to overcome the qualified immunity defense.  

Moot Court Faculty Advisor Professor D'Italia was ecstatic in reporting the good news. She shared in an email, "We burst out of prelims undefeated not just because the oralists rocked but because the brief was persuasive. Judges heaped praise on our oralists—calling out Zach's rebuttals and Tannaz's confidence in the face of heated questioning." 

Congratulations again to Moot Court Team Charleston on their well-deserved success! Thank you to the entire Moot Court Honors Program and their faculty advisors, Professor Alexandra D'Italia and Professor Carpenter, for helping this team prepare.