Out of a roster of nearly 60 skilled participants, Stephen Blake 3L emerged as the USF School of Law 2007 Advocate of the Year. His opponent in the final arguments, held on October 19 in the E. L. Wiegand Moot Courtroom, was Bryan Coryell 3L.

A standing-room-only crowd watched Blake, as respondent and Coryell as petitioner argue the finer points of Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure law. This year's problem, a hypothetical appeal argued before the United States Supreme Court, concerned the permissible scope of the search incident to arrest of a vehicle's recent occupant.

The petitioner had been arrested for talking on his cell phone without using a hands-free device, in violation of Zief law. He was charged with mail theft and drug possession after the arresting officer conducted a search incident to arrest and found vials of Percocet that had been mailed to residents of the local nursing home where the petitioner volunteered.  Coryell argued that the court should abandon the rule established in Thornton v. U.S. that allowed this search, in favor of the rule proposed in Justice Scalia's concurrence in that case - that the Fourth Amendment should only permit searches incident to arrest when is the officer has reason to believe evidence of the crime of arrest will be found in the vehicle.

A distinguished panel of judges peppered both advocates with questions. Judge M. Lynn Duryee '79 of the Marin County Superior Court, Judge Neal A. Cabrinha '64 of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, and Justice Ming W. Chin '67 of the California Supreme Court. All three are USF Law Alums. Their service as judges reunited Cabrinha and Chin, who partnered as a moot court team as students. 

"The judges' questions were incredibly rigorous, and were fielded with impressive skill and finesse by both of the finalists.  The competition once again demonstrated USF's strong tradition of exemplary legal advocacy," said Moot Court Advocacy Director Stephanie Chen 3L.

Coryell took honors for the Best Brief, with the Best Brief Runner-Up award going to Phillip Babich, 2L. The other six finalists in the competition were Phillip Babich 2L, Ellen Bass 3L, Anne Costin 3L, John Cuerva 2L, Marissa McKinster, 3L, and Lailah Salem 2L.
 
The Advocate of the Year is an intramural advocacy competition, open to all upper division students who completed the Spring Moot Court program. This student-run contest is administered by the Moot Court Board: Matthew Poole 3L, executive director; Stephanie Chen 3L, advocacy director; Danielle Tizol 3L, managing director; and Erin Schietinger 3L and Jennifer Frost 3L, topics directors. The Board thanks Professors Edith Ho and Suzanne Mounts, Faculty Services, Anita Ayers, and Heather Yule for their unfailing support of the Moot Court Program.  For more information please visit the Moot Court Webpage or write to usfmootcourt@hotmail.com.

Photos courtesy of Stephen Hew.