YSU students compete in national moot court

YOUNGSTOWN

You don’t want to argue with Youngstown State University students Andrik Massaro, Jacob Shriner-Briggs, Jillian Smith or Michael Marshall.

In teams of two, they advanced to compete last month at the national intercollegiate moot court competition at California State University at Long Beach.

“Only about 80 teams qualified for the national tournament out of about 400,” said Paul Sracic, YSU’s moot court coach, professor and chairman of the politics and international relations department. “Just qualifying for the national tournament is an accomplishment.”

The Massaro and Shriner-Briggs team made it to the top eight. Individually, Massaro finished 15th and Shriner-Briggs was third.

In moot court, students learn and argue either the appellant or the respondent side of an actual U.S. Supreme Court case. Each year, the case involves two constitutional questions. This year, those questions centered on both the First and Fifth Amendments.

Read more about the competition in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.