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Keen Young Minds Meet in Moot Court

The winning Kean team (from left): attorney-coach Joss Springette; J'Moi Powell, Danella Joseph, team captain Thomas Unger, and attorney-coach Jennifer Jones.Students from across the territory took on the attorney’s mantle Thursday and Friday, citing cases and code to V.I. Superior Court judges at the 16th Annual V.I. High School Appellate Moot Court Competition; and when the arguments were done, St. Thomas’ Ivanna Eudora Kean High School came out on top.

Moot court is essentially a practice court. In this week’s competition, the students studied cases, prepared and delivered oral arguments on a current legal issue before a three-judge panel. The court runs the program, selects topics and compiles the relevant statutes and case law in packets for the students. Each team gets help studying the cases and preparing to deliver arguments from two attorneys in the V.I. Bar Association.

Attorney Kye Walker, who was one of this year’s coaches, actually participated in the very first V.I. high school moot court 16 years ago when she was in high school. The Bar Association also provides the scholarship prizes. Seven schools went head to head Thursday and the top four came back Friday for another round.

This year the teams argued for and against a hypothetical case of adverse possession of land on St. John. The facts were these: A piece of land sat undeveloped for a number of years, and a person who used the land to graze cattle and farm off and on for many years filed suit to claim the land by right of adverse possession. In short, a person who occupies and possesses land for a long time, treating it as their own, acting in the belief it is their own, can eventually lay claim to the land if no one takes any action to support their claim of ownership.

The law’s purpose is to set an end to disputes and prevent decades or even centuries-old claims of title from casting doubt on property ownership. In practice, it is much more complicated than that, as the students made clear in their five-minute timed arguments. The law sets up conditions and legal circumstances that must be met, and the court has to determine whether the reality on the ground meets all the tests.

In the second round Friday, Jerice Lake of St. Thomas Seventh Day Adventist argued the claim of adverse possession did not meet the legal standard of "open and notorious" possession because, among other reasons, a fence on the land was often concealed by underbrush and crops.

"Why does it matter whether the fence was partly concealed?" Judge Harold Willocks asked Lake from his perch among the panel of judges.

"It would mean it was not commonly known," Lake said "It would show she has not satisfied that element, your honor."
How much the land was used by the possessor can be a factor too.

"The facts do not show enough evidence she regularly planted crops there, but they do show the land was as often overgrown as planted," said Lake.

The winning Eudora Kean team was a bit unusual because it had only two members: Danella Joseph and J’Moi Powell. Joseph also won best a separate award for best oration.

Standing outside the courtroom during competition Friday afternoon while another team made its case, Joseph showed confidence in her arguments.

"There are three issues," she said. "The question of a bona fide purchaser, the validity of the purchase and whether possession of the land was open, notorious and hostile. … We feel we established adverse possession."

For instance, the other side is saying they have a bona fide purchaser with a deed, she said. "But we say the purchaser was given fair warning there might be problems with the title because it was a court sale," she said.

Eudora Kean team captain Thomas Unger said both Joseph and teammate Powell put in a yeoman’s effort. "It was about 150 hours of effort they put in preparing for this," Unger said.

In arguing twice on two segments of the case, Joseph had more research and practice to do than the other contestants, said Eudora Kean attorney-coach Jennifer Jones.

"She did twice the work, twice the research, preparation and practice and she did an excellent job on both," Jones said. "She gave 150 percent, and Mr. Powell stepped in strong and brought in a great performance too."

There was a short delay as a question about scoring was resolved. Attorneys working with some schools argued Kean had an advantage because Joseph, who was individually the top scoring speaker, was scored twice — albeit for two different cases. The question was resolved and Kean declared the winner.

The competition was a very big deal for students and parents alike. Efrem Ravariere and daughter Candre were there Friday to cheer on his daughter Cleo Ravariere, a senior at St. Croix Seventh Day Adventist.

"She was very excited about moot court," Ravariere said. "She was practicing at school and at home every day. It was like moot court every night. They prepared for hours with those two attorneys, Ms. (Denise) Hinds(-Roach) and Mr. (David) Nissman."

Regardless of position on the final roster, every student that participated learned a huge amount about how the law works, how legal research is done, to stand up and make a reasoned case before a critical audience, answering questions and thinking on their feet.

"The contest comes down to the confidence in your argument and your preparation. It makes you more confident in your ability to perform with the best," said Powell about what competing had done for him. Everyone received ribbons, certificates and plaques. First and second place teams received a $1,000 scholarship, third place received a $500 scholarship and fourth place a $400 scholarship to any college.

The final results were:

  • 1st Place: Eudora Kean High School, St. Thomas;
  • 2nd Place: St. Croix Educational Complex;
  • 3rd Place: Charlotte Amalie High School, St. Thomas;
  • 4th place : St. Thomas-St. John Seventh Day Adventist School.

Also competing were: St. Croix Central High School; Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School, St. Thomas; and St. Croix Seventh Day Adventist School.

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