Jing Zhang (left) and Nicole Wilmet
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law successfully defended its championship — winning both first- and second-place — in the 30th annual William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition. The tournament, sponsored by Hamline University School of Law, was held February 19-21 in Minneapolis. IIT Chicago-Kent teams have won the championship three of the past four years and have won two consecutive best brief awards.
The team of second-year IIT Chicago-Kent students Alex Beehler, Peter Cheun and Alexandra McNicholas won the championship and best brief award, closely edging out a second IIT Chicago-Kent team comprised of third-year students Nicole Wilmet and Jing Zhang. Wilmet and Zhang also won the tournament’s second-best brief award.
The winning IIT Chicago-Kent team had a 7-0 undefeated streak, beating teams from DePaul University, the University of North Carolina and the University of South Dakota in the preliminary rounds.
In the elimination rounds, the team defeated a second University of North Carolina team, DePaul and Brigham Young University that led to the match-up against the second IIT Chicago-Kent team in the finals.
The second-place IIT Chicago-Kent team won against teams from Valparaiso University and Howard University in the preliminary rounds before losing a close contest to the University of Iowa.
In the elimination rounds, the team defeated Washburn University, the University of Baltimore and the University of Minnesota before losing to the IIT Chicago-Kent championship team.
“I’m especially proud of our success in the McGee Competition because it poses unique challenges,” said IIT Chicago-Kent Professor Kent D. Streseman, director of the Ilana Diamond Rovner Program in Appellate Advocacy.
“The students argue a real case with a relatively unvarnished appellate record. This year’s tournament focused on the same-sex marriage cases out of the Ninth Circuit.
“The teams did a wonderful job generating credible, sophisticated arguments for both sides in their written briefs and their oral arguments. There were several excellent teams in the field, so I am thrilled that both of our squads got to experience arguing in the final round,” added Streseman.
Winning team member Alex Beehler earned a degree in American politics and in economics and business at Cornell College. Teammate Peter Cheun received a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and a bachelor of arts degree in history, political science and French from Indiana University. Teammate Alexandra McNicholas graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs. The team was coached by third-year students Jacob Radecki and Jerome Urbik, who competed in last year’s tournament.
Team member Nicole Wilmet graduated from DePauw University with a double major in English literature and communication. Teammate Jing Zhang graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in communication and environmental studies, and a minor in science. The team was coached by third-year students Melody Gaal and Eric Shinabarger, who won the championship and best brief award in 2014.
The competition is named for William E. McGee, the first African American to be appointed chief public defender in the state of Minnesota. Mr. McGee also served as a public defender and prosecutor for Hennepin County. During his career, he worked as a staff attorney and then as executive director at the Legal Rights Center, a nonprofit, community-based organization that represents low-income people of color. Mr. McGee worked with numerous community and legal organizations, including the NAACP, the Legal Redress Committee, the Minnesota Criminal Rules Committee and the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers, of which he was a founding member and a past president. He died in 2000 at the age of 47.
This event reflects the values expressed in IIT’s Diversity Statement and is intended to promote diversity at IIT.
From left: Peter Cheun, Alex Beehler and Alexandra McNicholas