Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 4, 1 April 2012 — Hawaiʻi law students win big in moot court [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiʻi law students win big in moot court

Contributed by Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law Ateam of University of Hawai'i law students, eonsisting of Native Hawaiians and students working toward a Native Hawaiian law eertificate, swept the 2012 National Native Ameriean Law Students Association's annual moot court competition. The competition reflected legal and contemporary issues facing Native Hawaiians. The UH team's performance at this year's competition was extraordinary for several reasons: » UH won seven of nine total awards across three categories. » All five UH teams placed in the top 16 of all competing teams. » In the semifinal round, UH

comprised three of the top four teams. » In the final round, the top two teams were from UH. Tyler Gomes and Teri Wright won the Best Advocates (formerly Best Overall) category. Gomes is a 2011 Office of Hawaiian Affairs legislative fellow and Wright was an OHA volunteer prior to enrolling in law school. Caycie Gusman and Catherine Hall argued against Gomes and Wright in the competition's final round held at the Hawai'i Supreme Court in historic Ali'iōlani Hale. Ultimately, Gusman and Hall took second in the Best Advocates category. These two teams advocated their positions to a panel of judges eomposed of: Hawai'i Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald;

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Clifton; Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs deputy director Pilar Thomas, who previously served as deputy solicitor for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Interior Department; Stacy Leeds, dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law and a former Supreme Court justice for the Cherokee Nation; and former Gov. John Waihe'e III, who serves as Chair of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission. The Hawai'i Supreme Court was filled to capacity. In attendance were OHA Chairperson Colette Machado and Trustee Oswald Stender. In other results, Zach DiIonno and Fawn Jade Koopman tied for third in the Best Advocate's category. Gomes won first plaee in the Best Oralist category; Ana Won

Pat-Borja, a Guam native, took second. Although the UH law students did not capture first plaee for Best Brief, they dominated the category with Gusman and Catherine Hall earning second plaee and DiIonno and Koopman garnering third plaee. "We're excited about our performanee this year," said third-year law student and team captain Adam Roversi. Professor Williamson Chang, the team's faculty adviser, said: "We're very proud of our students. Over the past few years, they've consistently done well in this particular eompetition." Other team members were: Elika Otoya-Stimpson, who competed with Roversi in the quarterfinal round, essentially placing fourth

after DiIonno and Koopman; and second-year law students Jarrett Keohokalole and Randall Wat. Although not a member of the team, first-year law student Kurt Klein, a former OHA volunteer, practiced with and helped prepare the team for the competition. UH law students competed against 51 other teams from 27 law schools throughout the United States. The UH law school has amassed 30 awards in its 17-year participation of the National Native American Law Students Association's moot court competition, whieh was funded in part by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Following the competition on Sunday, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, along with 'Ahahui O Hawai'i and the UH Chapter of the Native American Law Students Association, co-hosted the symposium "Of Membership and Recognition." Panelists included three of the finalroundcompetitionjudges: Thomas, Waihe'e and Leeds. Accompanying them was Professor Patricia Ferguson-Bohnee, faculty director of the Indian Legal Program at Arizona State University. The symposium provided the puhlie with an opportunity to learn more about the federal-recognition process and membership issues of federally recognized indigenous communities. To hear a Hawai'i Puhlie Radio interview with Tyler Gomes about the competition experience, visit http://bit.ly/TylerGomesHPR. The interview begins at the 47:45 mark. ■ Estabīished withfederal fimding in 2005 at the William S. Richardson School of Law, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law is an academic center that promotes education, scholarship, community outreach and collaboration on issues of law, culture and justice for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific and Indigenous peoples. This eolumn appears bimonthly.

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UH law students and professors celebrate the team's wins at an awards banquet. Back row, from left: Teri Wright, Tyler Gomes, captain Adam Roversi, Catherine Hall, Caycie Gusman, Professor Melody MacKenzie and Kurt Klein. Front, from left: Zach ūilonno, Fawn Jade Koopman, Professor Williamson Chang, Jarrett Keohokalole, Ana Won Pat-Borja, Randall Wat and Elika Otoya Stimpson. - Courtesy: Ka Huli Ao