(L-R) George Vasquez, Amanda DeHart, and James Mugridge proudly pose with their Roger J. Traynor trophy for Best Oral Argument.
For the first time in history, San Joaquin College of Law played host to the Traynor Moot Court Competition in April 2013. Fourteen law schools competed, including teams from Berkeley, Hastings, McGeorge, and Davis. San Joaquin College of Law was thrilled when Justice Marvin R. Baxter announced on the morning of April 14, 2013 the SJCL team had “edged out” Loyola to take the Roger J. Traynor trophy for Best Oral Argument.
SJCL Dean Jan Pearson immediately sent out the good news, proclaiming “Congratulations to Amanda DeHart, James Mugridge, and George Vasquez as well as Coaches Judge Conklin and Magistrate Judge Boone!! The trophy is huge – we get to keep it for a year!”
SJCL Moot Court Director Professor Jonathan Conklin, a Superior Court Judge, and Professor Stanley Boone, a US Magistrate Judge, led the team.
While SJCL has had a number of victories at Traynor over the years, including winning the Bernard E. Witkin Award in 2002 and Best Brief in 2001, 2002 and last year, this marks the first time the Law School has won the Traynor Trophy.
But that wasn’t the only win for the Law School. Professors Conklin and Boone have been trying to persuade the organizers to use Fresno as a venue for years before having success landing this year’s competition. They managed to secure the Federal Courthouse as a venue, marking the first time in the 40-some year history of the event that it has ever been held in a courthouse. If the comments of the other law schools and officials from Continuing Education of Bar and the Rutter Group during this year’s event weren’t enough to indicate its success, the comments of Witkin Editor David Bonelli at the closing awards ceremony seemed to clinch the deal. He said the event was the best Traynor Competition he had seen, and while Traynor has committed to a Los Angeles venue for next year and the Bay Area the following year, Witkin editors agree they would love to come back to Fresno in 2016 “if you’ll have us.”
Another win from the event came in the form of the caliber of the competitors. Judge Lawrence O’Neill expressed his delight, saying “We don’t generally have excellence versus excellence in the courtroom.”
Justice Brad hill also praised the skills of the law students, adding his hopes that he was witnessing “not only budding great attorneys, but budding great appellate attorneys.”
Other bench officers judging the competition include the Hon. Donald Black, Hon. Nickolas Dibiaso, Hon. Donald Franson Jr., Hon. Anthony Ishii, Hon. Stephen Kane, Hon. Bert Levy, Hon. Barbara McAuliffe, Hon. Sheila Oberto, Hon. Michael Seng, Hon. Jennifer Thurston, and Hon. Steven Vartabedian.
The SJCL Traynor Team poses with the Justices from the final round of the weekend competition. (L-R) the Hon. Stanley Boone (U. S. Magistrate Judge), SLCL students George Vasquez and Amanda DeHart, the Hon. Lawrence O’Neill (U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of California), the Hon. Marvin R. Baxter, (Associate Justice Supreme Court of California), the Hon. Brad Hill (Presiding Justice of the Fifth District Court of Appeal), SJCL student James Mugridge, and the Hon. Jonathan Conklin (Fresno County Superior Court).
Congratulations to the winners in all categories at this year’s Traynor Competition:
Oral Argument: The Roger J Traynor Award
- San Joaquin College of Law
- Loyola School of Law
- U.C. Davis School of Law
Excellence in Appellate Advocacy: The Bernard E. Witkin Award
- Golden Gate University School of Law
- Loyola School of Law
- McGeorge School of Law
Brief Writing: The California Academy of Appellate Lawyers Award
- Golden Gate University School of Law
- Loyola School of Law