Press Release

NIU College of Law Students Place Second at NLLSA National Moot Court Competition

October 20, 2008

DeKalb, Ill. – Rocio S. Becerril and Marissa Hanson, third-year students at Northern Illinois University College of Law, placed second at the National Latino Law Student Association (NLLSA) Moot Court Competition. NLLSA hosted its first ever National Moot Court Competition during its 12th Annual Conference in Albuquerque, N.M., held October 16-18, 2008.

“Rocio and Marissa are extremely talented advocates and the NIU community should be very proud of them,” remarked Assistant Professor Robert Jones. “They overcame home field advantage to defeat New Mexico in the semifinals and then only narrowly lost in the finals to Texas Tech.”  Professor Jones, who began at the NIU College of Law in 2007, coached the team. The Moot Court team benefited from Professor Jones’ successful experience coaching previous moot court teams at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. 

The students argued the issue of a Fourth Amendment violation involving the exclusionary rule and the Sixth Amendment confrontation clause of a business record. Participants had to prepare to argue both sides of the issue. The decision of which side of the issue to argue was made minutes before the competition by the flip of a coin. 

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