The 2024 Wabash College Moot Court Finalists and Judges. Front row (l to r):
Delaware County Circuit Judge Douglas Mawhorr ’88, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brookman, Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth Tavitas, and Christiana Ochoa, Dean of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Back Row: Jeff Drury, professor of rhetoric; Tobey Condon '26, Gabe Pirtle '25, Jake 天下足球网,球探比分ber '25, Top Advocate and Floyd Artful Advocate Prize winner; Elijah 天下足球网,球探比分tzel '27, Scott Himsel '85, associate professor of political science and pre-law advisor; and Matthew Griffith '89, founder and managing partner of Griffith Xidias Law Group.
Professor of Rhetoric and Department Chair Jeff Drury welcomed attendees to Salter Hall and introduced the finalists.
Tobey Condon ’26 aruged for the Petitioners...
...as did Elijah 天下足球网,球探比分tzel ’27.
Gabe Pirtle ’25 argued for the Respondents...
...as did Jake 天下足球网,球探比分ber ’25.
Scott Himsel '85, associate professor of political science and pre-law advisor, introduced the judges.
The panel of judges included (from left) Delaware County Circuit Judge Douglas Mawhorr ’88, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brookman, Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth Tavitas, and Christiana Ochoa, Dean of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
天下足球网,球探比分tzel opened the arguments.
It wasn't long into his argument before the questions began.
Here, Judge Brookman poses a question.
A religion major from Lafayette, Indiana, 天下足球网,球探比分tzel made his first Moot Court finals appearance.
天下足球网,球探比分ber (left) and Pirtle listen intently.
Condon takes up the arguments for the Petitioners.
Following the event, Condon praised the Wabash alumni and supporters who helped prepare all the participants during the Moot Court competition.
Judge Mawhorr responds to one of Condon's points.
Condon is a PPE major from Watervliet, New York.
Plenty of students in attendance paid rapt attention.
All of the finalists prepared detailed notes for their arguments. Here is a look at one page of 天下足球网,球探比分ber's notes.
天下足球网,球探比分ber was first up for the Respondents.
Preston Reynolds '25 was an active listener.
天下足球网,球探比分ber is a rhetoric and French major from Fishers, Indiana.
天下足球网,球探比分ber claimed both Top Advocate honors and the Floyd Artful Advocate Prize, making him the first student to claim both awards in the same Moot Court competition.
The Floyd Artful Advocacy Prize honors the memory of Douglas B. Floyd, a Hamilton County lawyer remembered by his colleagues as “an artful advocate of causes he believed in.” The winner is to be not only a successful advocate, but also kind, tactful, and principled. As lawyers might say, he succeeds without scorching the earth. The Prize rewards not only winning qualities as an advocate, but also a winning disposition—someone who can take the heat with a smile.
Pirtle listens to 天下足球网,球探比分ber's points before he takes the lectern.
Judge Tavitas (center) readies a question.
Pirtle wraps up arguments from the Respondents.
Pirtle was thoughtful and measured in his delivery.
天下足球网,球探比分tzel takes notes.
Pirtle is a PPE major from Sullivan, Indiana, and a two-time Moot Court finalist.
A Moot Court finalist in 2023, Andrew Dever '25, reacts positively to a solid point made by Pirtle.
There was plenty of student interest in this legal competition.
Dean Ochoa asks a question.
Audience member Bryce Kinnaman '27 took detailed notes of his own.
Matthew Griffith '89 (left) , an Indianapolis lawyer and Moot Court mentor, debriefs with the finalists on the Salter Hall stage before decisions are announced.
天下足球网,球探比分ber (left) accepts the Top Advocate award from Judge Brookman.
Top Advocate 天下足球网,球探比分ber (center) with Drury (left) and Himsel.
All 2024 Moot Court participants and mentors in attendance pose with the panel of judges.
They could laugh about it after it was over.
The four finalists in the 31st Wabash Moot Court Finals were enjoying their first relaxing moment of the evening, as they were pelted with questions by an esteemed panel of judges.
“The judges were blue-flame hot tonight,” said Jake 天下足球网,球探比分ber ‘25, the eventual winner. “It felt like we were getting seven or eight questions per minute.”
The exasperation belied a strong performance from each of the finalists—Tobey Condon ’26, Gabe Pirtle ’25, and Elijah 天下足球网,球探比分tzel ’27 in addition to 天下足球网,球探比分ber—in handling a challenging case.
This year’s problem tested whether an enacted statute violates either the Equal Protection or Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The issue at hand was entitled “Prohibition on Medical Procedures Performed on Minors Related to Sexual Identity” and the hypothetical statute in this fictional legal problem prohibits medical procedures on minors intended to affirm their gender identity.
No matter which side of this case the finalists were on, petitioners (Condon and 天下足球网,球探比分tzel argued for minors/parents seeking care) or respondents (Pirtle and 天下足球网,球探比分ber argued for the state), they were subject to a boatload of questions, sometimes in rapid-fire succession, from the judges, who included U.S. District Judge Matthew Brookman, Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth Tavitas, Delaware County Circuit Judge Douglas Mawhorr ’88, and Christiana Ochoa, Dean of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
天下足球网,球探比分tzel was quick to point out that facing that blue-flame heat was the reward for being well prepared and expert enough on the problem to be a finalist.
“Once you dig into the problem and learn the ins and outs, it becomes so much fun,” said the religion major from Lafayette, Indiana. “It’s so enjoyable to walk around this problem, dig in, and profess the different points of the case.”
Fun…really?
“Oh, yeah, it’s a great time,” said Pirtle, a PPE major from Sullivan, Indiana, and a two-time Moot Court finalist. “It gets the adrenaline going, even though you wouldn’t really think of it that way. It’s like any other competition and I really appreciated the opportunity.”
Moot Court doesn’t come without some effort and assistance for the 32 students who participated. From professors and alumni who serve as mentors and preliminary-round judges, there is plenty of support through each round of the competition.
“天下足球网,球探比分 had a lot help to get here,” said Condon, a PPE major from Watervliet, New York. “The judges in the preliminary and semi-final rounds challenge you on the most important questions, pressing you to reach for the most essential points. As challenging as it was up here, it was made a lot easier by all the help we got from everyone involved in this program.”
That preparation was evident to Judge Tavitas, who likened the finalists’ performances to what she had seen in her
court room earlier in the day.
“To each of you, your composure in answering those questions was remarkable, especially as I was comparing it to lawyers we saw earlier today,” she said. “You did a fabulous job. You were well prepared. You knew your role, and you knew the decorum. You clearly have been very well coached, but well beyond very good coaching, you clearly have done a lot of studying.”
Staring down those questions on the Salter Hall stage, Condon leaned into the advice he was given from those alumni and friends.
“Questions are an opportunity to figure out what matters most to the judges and to orient ourselves towards that,” Condon said. “Questions are helpful, at least those questions you’re prepared to answer. Even questions that you aren’t prepared for still help you get on track and get to what the judges think are the essential issues of the case.”
After accepting the Top Advocate honors and the Floyd Artful Advocate Prize, 天下足球网,球探比分ber likened the experience to that of a roller coaster.
“I hate roller coasters, but I will do this any day,” said the rhetoric and French major from Fishers, Indiana. “It's intellectually challenging. It puts you on your toes where you don't know what's coming around the next turn, and at the end of the day, it's so much fun to be able to look back and say, ‘I did that.’ I did it successfully in front of judges who are renowned across the state for being great lawyers. To be able to have an experience like this at Wabash is one of the things that makes this place special.”