Yesterday was President’s Day, so this message is being sent Tuesday morning.
“The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.” - Frederick Douglass
“We cannot play ostrich. Democracy just cannot flourish amid fear. Liberty cannot bloom amid hate. Justice cannot take root amid rage. America must get to work. In the chill climate in which we live, we must go against the prevailing wind. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust…” - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
What is the single most important skill for a lawyer and a leader? I believe it is effective, persuasive written and oral communication. Our students are educated and trained to perfect those skills. Our award-winning Moot Court and Mock Trial Teams hone those skills to the highest level.
Recently, our Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Team (formerly known as the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Team) won the Thurgood Marshall Midwest Regional Competition. This was CSU Cleveland-Marshall’s third regional Thurgood Marshall championship in the past 4 years! See C|M|LAW Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Team Wins Regional Competition, Advances to National Finals
Anita Davenport ‘21 (Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Team Coordinator), Vanessa Gomez
(President, C|M|LAW Black Law Students Association-BLSA) and Alexis Bovell ’21 (Vice-President, C|M|LAW BLSA) prepared the brief which was argued by Vanessa and Alexis.
Vanessa Gomez and Alexis Bovell won the quarter final round (3 judges), semifinal round (6 judges), and championship round (3 District Court Judges) by unanimous decision. The championship round was heard at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. We faced off against Loyola Chicago School of Law in the final round.
There were 10 teams who competed from across the Midwest Region. The top three placing teams from each of the six regional conventions will compete at the National Convention of the National Black Law Students Association, March 3-8th, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Our team is coached by Adjunct Professors Brandon Cox '12 and Theophilus Hudson '12. Jasmine Taylor ’19 and Emily Stolfer ’17 assist with coaching. Professor Browne Lewis is the faculty advisor.
Jameson Tibbs ’21 accompanied our Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Team to Indiana for the Midwest Black Law Students Association (MWBLSA) Convention. Jameson was elected Chair of MWBLSA, which gives him responsibility for the governance of all chapters in the 15 states of the regional MWBLSA.
DeAngelo LaVette ’17 is National Adviser to the National Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition.
Our students and alumni continue to impress and amaze me, and we are very proud of their individual and collective accomplishments.
Note: Thank you very much to those of you who supported our students on Giving Day last Wednesday – we raised $24,400 from 124 donors!
This Week’s Monday Moment: Justice Thurgood Marshall Video Biography
Have a great day. Have a great week.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
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My views in all my Monday Morning Messages are my personal views alone and do not reflect the views of our law school or our university.
My best,
Lee