Congratulations to UAlberta Law's Sunny Mann and Calvin Patterson - off to compete in the Sopinka Cup in Ottawa March 17-18.
The culmination of many months of hard work and anticipation came to a close on Saturday as the winner of the 2017 MacIntyre Western Canada Trial Cup Moot (MacIntyre Cup) - a regional criminal trial moot competition - was announced. UAlberta Law hosted the February 9-11 competition.
Congratulations to the University of Manitoba's Adriel Agpalza and Agapi Mavridis, who placed first in the competition, and the University of Saskatchewan's Zachary Carter and Anita Yuk, who placed second.
UAlberta Law's Sunny Mann and Calvin Patterson had a third place showing in their representation of the Crown.
Ordinarily, the top two teams in the MacIntyre and the other regional competitions (Ontario, Quebec, eastern Canada) go on to compete at the Sopinka Cup - the national trial advocacy competition - in Ottawa. Because of a rotating "wild card", the third place team from the MacIntyre Cup - the UAlberta Law team of Mann and Patterson - will advance to the Sopinka Cup this year. Last year, the UAlberta Law team of Jonathon Austin and Fraser Genuis advanced to the Sopinka Cup - and won - for the first time in our history.
February 11 marked the end of an exciting three days.
Beginning on February 9, UAlberta Law joined six other western Canadian law schools - the University of British Columbia, the University of Calgary, the University of Manitoba, the University of Saskatchewan, Thompson Rivers University, and the University of Victoria - for a welcome lunch in CN Alumni Hall.
Afterwards, there was time for teams to brief and prepare their witnesses, portrayed by four actors, including two UAlberta alumni: Jenny McKillop (BFA '08) and Shannon Blanchet (BFA '06).
Over the next two days, each team argued their position as Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta Justice John T. Henderson presided over each trial at the Edmonton Law Courts.
Karen Hewitt, Q.C., a Crown Prosecutor with the Specialized Prosecutions branch of Alberta Justice and a sessional instructor at UAlberta Law, served with Steve Smith, a criminal defence lawyer with Gunn Law Group, as assessors for the competition.
Prior to the moot, teams were randomly selected to represent either the Crown or defence in R v Pellerin, a case in which the accused was charged with arson. A total of four witnesses, including the accused, were called to the stand.
UAlberta Law was in a unique spot this year, with the chance to act as both the Crown and the defence. Since seven schools participated in the MacIntyre Cup, one school was needed to field two teams to make up even numbers. As the host school, UAlberta Law was automatically given the second team. Third-year students Mann, Patterson, Jeff Bengry, and second-year student Emilie-Claire Draper represented UAlberta Law.
Whether chosen as the Crown or defence, each team participating in the moot prepared and presented opening juror addresses, examinations-in-chief, cross-examinations of witnesses, and closing arguments.
After the last moot finished, participants gathered for a banquet and the presentation of the MacIntyre Cup at the Sutton Place Hotel. Dean Paul Paton served as Master of Ceremonies.
"Revitalizing our moot program has been a priority for me, and this year I wanted to be sure that we could enhance our reputation by hosting as well as fielding strong competitive moot teams. I'm delighted not only in the level of engagement and participation in competitive moots, but also that this weekend was such a success on so many levels," he said.
Next on the docket? UAlberta Law hosts the Jessup International Law Moot Canadian finals March 2-4.
UAlberta Law would like to thank those responsible for ensuring a successful 2017 MacIntyre Western Canada Trial Cup Moot. In addition to Justice Henderson, Ms. Hewitt, Mr. Smith, and the actors who served as witnesses, thanks go to Associate Chief Justice John Rooke for generously allowing us to use the courthouse for the competition, and to Diana Lowe, Executive Legal Counsel for Associate Chief Justice Rooke, for facilitating the necessary arrangements. Thank you to Stella Varvis, Director, Legal Research & Writing Program and Coordinator, Competitive Moot Program, for her substantial efforts organizing the competition and to Gillian Reid and Aileen Reilly for logistics and event planning support. Thanks also go to Alexandra Seaman and Donald MacCannell - who assisted in organizing the competition and served as UAlberta Law team coaches - and to the many student volunteers who served as jurors, student ambassadors, and court clerks.