77.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsLocal newsKean Wins Close Moot Court Competition

Kean Wins Close Moot Court Competition

Ivanna Eudora Kean High School Team – Keisha Hackett, Shania Farrington, Jahavheed George, Ki’Andre Thomas, Kendra Vicars. (Photo courtesy of the V.I. Bar Association)

Students from across the territory took on the attorney’s mantle this week, citing cases and code to V.I. Superior Court judges at the 24th Annual V.I. High School Appellate Moot Court Competition and when talking was 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, prepare and deliver 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. At stake were scholarship prizes.

This year’s legal question was timely, given last year’s hurricanes, which impacted nearly everything in the territory. They took sides in a hypothetical case involving a legal action for declaratory judgment in which the petitioner, whose home was completely destroyed by Hurricane Irmaria, challenged his insurance company’s denial of his insurance claim.

Central High School Team – Ericka Hansen, Jayla Norman, Giovane Barnes, Alayna Caraballo, Joseph Bess, Chivonee Thomas (V.I. Bar President-Elect), Kelvin Vidale (front) (Photo courtesy of the V.I. Bar Association)

During the first two days of competition, each team presented their arguments to a three judge panel comprised of local attorneys who selected the top two teams from each district. Thursday, the final day of competition, the selected teams presented their arguments before V.I. Supreme Court Justice Maria Cabret and Superior Court judges Harold Willocks and Debra Watlington.

At the end, only two points separated the top two teams. The winners were the appellee team (the team opposing the appeal) from the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School comprised of Ki’Andre Thomas, Jahavheed George, and Shania Farrington. The school’s faculty coaches were Kendra Vicars and Keisha Hackett. The school’s attorney coach was Mark Kragel. Second Place went to the appellee team from St. Croix Central High School comprised of Jayla Norman, Giovane Barnes, and Alayna Caraballo. The school’s faculty coaches were Ericka Hansan and Joseph Bess. The school’s attorney coach was Kelvin Vidale. Third Place went to the appellant team from the Good Hope Country Day School

Good Hope Country Day School Team – Chivonne Thomas (V.I. Bar President-Elect), Crystal Fahie, Jade Bryan, Pamela Colon, Nancy Thatcher, Michael Rogers. (back) (Photo courtesy of the V.I. Department of Education)

comprised of Crystal Fahie and Jade Bryan. The school’s faculty coach was Nancy Thatcher. The school’s attorney coaches were Pamela Colon and Michael Rogers. Fourth Place went to the appellant team from the Antilles School comprised of Taylor Robinson, and Sherde Nicholas. The school’s faculty coach was Kim Murtha. The school’s attorney coach was Charlotte Perrell. Awards for best orator went to Taylor Robinson of the Antilles school and Jada Romer of the Good Hope Country Day School for the preliminary round, and Jahavheed George of Ivanna Eudora Kean High School for the final round.

Pictured: Antilles School Team – Chivonne Thomas (V.I. Bar President-Elect), Sherde Nicholas, Taylor Robinson, Charlotte Perrell.(Photo courtesy of the V.I. Bar Association)
Pictured: Venetia Velazquez, Jahavheed George (Best Orator) from Ivanna Eudora Kean High School. (Photo courtesy of the V.I. Bar Association)
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.