Spanish-language news program awaits vote

By: Eric Meyers

Posted: 1/23/08

In 2005, the competition began.

Syracuse University's team became national champions in 2006.

The team made it to quarterfinals in 2007.

And now, its 2008 season is ready to begin.

On Nov. 15, tryouts determined the three Syracuse University Law School students who will compete in the fourth annual Williams Institute Moot Court Competition on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law, held at the University of California, Los Angeles, in February.

Each year, the competition selects an issue that deals with sexual orientation and the law. The 2008 topic, while not officially announced, will concern a law that requires all school organizations to be recognized.

It will focus on gay-straight alliances in high school, said Charles Sprock, the team's advisor and coach. Teams prepare briefs arguing each side of the case and must compete against other teams in a head-to-head competition.

Applicants submitted briefs from prior competitions, or writing samples if they were first-year law students. They then argued their cases in front of the judges, a group of law students with prior experience on similar teams.

The three-person team includes two second-year law students, Bryan Georgiady and Roufeda Ebrahim, who worked together last year in the Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition.

"What got me interested was Bryan, who was a team member," Ebrahim said. "Now that that Thomas Tang was concluded, he encouraged me to work with him again. I wanted to get more experience in oral advocacy."

This will be Georgiady's second year on the team.

"We're excited to bring his experience to the table," Sprock said.

The third team member is Eva Burger, a first-year law student, who shows a lot of promise as a good advocate, he said.

Ebrahim appreciates the friendships she formed as a member of the Thomas Tang team, and hopes to have a similar experience here.

"The real benefit is getting a whole bunch of people together who don't know each other, but who have the same passion," she said. "Putting all of these people in the same room, with the same goal in mind, was a great experience. We all developed a strong friendship."

Olatokunbo Olaniyan, a third-year law student, was a member of the successful 2006 and 2007 teams.

"It was overall a great experience," she said. "I hadn't done any advocacy stuff before, so it was really good training, and it helped me learn to be comfortable in a courtroom and in front of judges."

SU was crowned the national champions in 2006, its first year, after successfully arguing that states must honor same-sex marriages made official in another state, in the competition's final round.

"It's been a great opportunity for SU to get some recognition on the West Coast," Sprock said. "We've really made a name for ourselves at UCLA with this."

Olaniyan, while not participating this year, will be coaching and evaluating the team this year and acting as a judge for practice competitions, she said.

Sprock will also act as a judge and coach, but will not participate in writing the briefs.

"I make sure that I have given them every opportunity to argue their position to try a different argument and to give them my feedback," he said. "I'm not allowed to help them at all with writing, but it's my responsibility to teach them about advocacy and put them in touch with other lawyers or professors who can help them."

This year, the team will be receiving additional help from OutLaw: Gay/Straight Law Student Alliance, a group within the law school. Although the team has been considered part of OutLaw, this is the first year the team will be organized by the OutLaw president.

Jason White, current OutLaw president, strives to make sure the team has the resources to make the trip to UCLA in February.

"Last year, the team was doing its own fundraising, organizing, practicing on its own, apart from OutLaw," White said. "This year, as president, I wanted to make sure the team was supported and that it had a support base within the organization."

Sprock said the competition provides valuable, realistic experience, as most of the similar competitions do, but the Williams Institute competition offers something extra.

"I think the competition is a great experience for all students to learn about issues that affect the LGBT community in our country," he said. "It really raises awareness. Not only for the legal issues, but for the social issues as well."