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 White Plains, NY - Once again local high school students will be putting on their legal advocacy hats Thursday and Friday, November 19 and 20, to compete in the Third Annual Moot Court Competition sponsored by the Westchester County Human Rights Commission.
Teams from seventeen schools have researched applicable laws and prepared written briefs, and will step into a real courtroom to argue their case before real judges and attorneys.
Participating schools will be Ardsley, Eastchester, Gorton, Harrison, Lakeland, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Pleasantville, Roosevelt, Rye Neck, Sleepy Hollow, Thornton, Valhalla, Woodlands and Yonkers High School.
Delores Scott Brathwaite, the commission’s executive director, noted that the Moot Court has tripled in size since it began three years ago and it’s wonderful to see more youngsters wanting to take part.
“We are very excited about this year’s competition,” she said. “We have so many schools participating that the competition is now held on two days. I am personally pleased at the enthusiasm of the students and am so appreciative of the attorneys and judges who have agreed to participate and work on this event with the commission.”
The Opening Ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning and the competitions will take place from 9:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day at the Supreme Court, Westchester County. The first rounds will be argued on Thursday and the semi-finals and finals will follow on Friday.
Spano and Bill Ryan, chair of the County Board of Legislators, as well as other local officials, and Administrative Judge Alan Scheinkman, will join Robin Bikkal, Esq., to welcome the students and open the competition. Bikkal is the widow of the late Donald N. Silverman in whose honor the competition has been named.
In the competition, the schools will argue against each other and the winning school teams and the best oral advocate will receive awards. All winners will be honored at the Commission’s Annual Human Rights Day Breakfast on Thursday, Dec. 10 at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains.
The Donald N. Silverman Moot Court Competition is also supported and sponsored by Pace University School of Law Moot Court Board, the Westchester County Bar Association, the Westchester Black Bar Association and the Westchester Women’s Bar Association. For more information, call the Westchester County Human Rights Commission at (914) 995-7710.
Members of the public are welcome to attend on a seats-available basis.
The Supreme Court is located at 111 Martin Luther King Blvd., White Plains.
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