The 54th Annual Irving J. Neumiller Moot Court Competition

The Neumiller Competition is the final round of the year-long Moot Court competition at UC Davis School of Law. Top students from the appellate advocacy course are selected to compete in front of a panel of distinguished judges.

This year, the Neumiller Competition was held on April 14, 2023. Finalists John Collins, McKenzie Deutsch, Avery Lajeunesse and Zachary Castagnola-Johnson went head-to-head in front of a panel of six distinguished judges. The following judicial officers presided over the competition:

Judge Dale Alan Drozd, District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Judge Elena Duarte, Associate Justice on the Third District of the California Courts of Appeal
Judge Kara Ueda, Judge of the Superior Court of Sacramento County
Judge Renee Reyna, Judge of the Superior Court of San Mateo
Judge Dan Wolk, Judge of the Superior Court of Yolo County, and
Judge Dee Brown, Administrative Law Judge in the State of California

Congratulations to the winners of the 54th Annual Neumiller Moot Court Competition: John Collins and McKenzie Deutsch!

The 50th Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Hillary Marston and Chase Stone for winning the 50th annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The Neumiller Competition is the final round of the year-long Moot Court competition at UC Davis School of Law. Top students from the appellate advocacy course are selected to compete in front of a panel of distinguished judges.

On April 12, 2019, competitors Hillary Marston '20 and Chase Stone '20 advocated for the petitioner, and Alison Corn '20 and Micayla Hardisty '20 for the respondent. The case weighed whether civil forfeiture, in which assets and property are seized with or without an associated criminal charge, is constitutionally permissible.

The students demonstrated their courtroom skills before three distinguished members of the judiciary: Senior U.S. District Court Judge William B. Shubb, California Sixth District Court of Appeal Associate Judge Nathan D. Mihara, and Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lawrence Brown '89. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shama Mesiwala '98, who also is a professor of the Appellate Advocacy class, introduced the event.

The Moot Court Program would like to thank Neumiller & Beardslee, Inc. for its continued support of the Neumiller Competition.

The 49th Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Samantha Castanien and Hannah Moravec for winning the 49th Annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The Neumiller Competition is the final round of the year-long Moot Court competition at UC Davis School of Law. Top students from the appellate advocacy course are selected to compete in front of a panel of distinguished judges.

On April 12, 2018, competitors Gymmel Garcia Carmona and Mayra Sandoval represented the Petitioner and Samantha Castanien and Hannah Moravec represented the Respondent. The teams addressed issues including workplace discrimination and attorney client privilege.

This year's panel of judges consisted Judge Consuelo Callahan from the Ninth Circuit, Justice Louis Mauro from the Third District Court of Appeal, and Justice Murray from the Third District Court of Appeal.

The Moot Court Program would like to thank Neumiller & Beardslee, Inc. for its continued support of the Neumiller Competition.

The 48th Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Anton Swain-Gil and Rebecca Friedemann for winning the 48th Annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The Neumiller Competition is the final round of the year-long Moot Court competition at UC Davis School of Law. Top students from the appellate advocacy course are selected to compete in front of a panel of distinguished judges.

On April 20, 2016 competitors Sarah Yoonhae Oh and Paolo Hermoso an represented the Petitioner and Anton Swain-Gil and Rebecca Friedemann represented the Respondent. The teams addressed issues including treason and the fourth amendment.

This year's panel of judges consisted of Honorable Ming Chin Supreme Court of California, Honorable, Honorable Elena Duarte of California Third District Court of Appeal, The Honorable Kathleen Butz also of California’s Third District Court of Appeal, and Honorable Lt. Col. Brendon Tukey USAF Western Judicial Circuit

The Moot Court Program would like to thank Neumiller & Beardslee, Inc. for its continued support of the Neumiller Competition.

The 47th Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Sharlene Koonce and Holly Snead for winning the 47th Annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The Neumiller Competition is the final round of the year-long Moot Court competition at UC Davis School of Law. Top students from the appellate advocacy course are selected to compete in front of a panel of distinguished judges.

On April 9, 2016 competitors Sharlene Koonce and Holly Snead represented the Petitioner and William Foster and Isaac Walrath represented the Respondent. The teams addressed issues including qualified immunity, excessive force, and expert witness testimony.

This year's panel of judges consisted of Honorable Consuelo M. Callahan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Honorable Goodwin H. Liu of the Supreme Court of California, Honorable Louis R. Mauro of the California Third District Court of Appeal, and Honorable William J. Murray, Jr., also of the California Third District Court of Appeal.

The Moot Court Program would like to thank Neumiller & Beardslee, Inc. for its continued support of the Neumiller Competition.

The 46th Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Anita Bamshad and Niall Roberts for winning the 46th Annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The Neumiller Competition is the culmination of each year's Appellate Advocacy program at King Hall, wherein top students from the Appellate Advocacy course are selected to compete in front of a panel of distinguished judges.

On April 11, 2015, Competitors Anita Bamshad and Niall Roberts represented the Respondent and Abigail Mulvihill and Aaron Israel represented the Petitioner. The teams argued regarding the interaction between social media posts and the Fourth Amendment as well as the role of expressive writings and the true threats exception to First Amendment protection.

This year's distinguished panel consisted of Honorable Alex Kozinski of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Honorable Kim M. Wardlaw of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Justice Leondra R. Kruger of the California Supreme Court.

Attendees included Dean Johnson, Professor Carlton Larson, Neumiller & Beardslee attorney Kurtis Keller '12, and a host of King Hall students.

The 45th Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Minal Khan and Kelli Johnson for winning the 45th Annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The Neumiller Competition serves as the annual culmination of the Law School's Appellate Advocacy Program.

The competition took place on Saturday, April 5, 2014 in the Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom.

This year’s competitors were Minal Khan and Kelli Johnson for the for Petitioner and Gagandeep Kaur and Dawei Chi for the Respondent. The competitors argued on the constitutionality of a counter-terrorism statute and judicial interpretation of congressional intent.

This year's panel was composed of the Honorable Frank Easterbrook of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Honorable Consuelo Callahan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Honorable Steven Colloton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Attendees included Dean Kevin Johnson, Professors Edward Imwinkelried and John Hunt, Neumiller & Beardslee attorneys Michael Tener '07 and Kurtis Keller '12, and a host of prospective King Hall students who were visiting King Hall as part of an Open House for Admitted Students.

The 44th Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Joe Uzarski and David Carl for winning the 44th Annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The competition took place on Saturday, April 17, 2013 in the Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom.

This year’s competitors were Joe Uzarski and David Carl for the for Petitioner and Rebecca Dreyfuss and Sterling Elmore for the Respondent. The competitors argued on the constitutionality of gun control and judicial interpretation of administrative decisions.

This year's panel was composed of retired Chief Justice Walter Carpeneti of the Alaska Supreme Court, Judge William Shubb of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Judge Kimberly Mueller of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Justice Louis Mauro '87 of the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, and Justice Elena Duarte of the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District.

The 43nd Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Kara DiBiasio and Lauren Hererra for winning the 43rd Annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The competition took place on Saturday, April 7, 2012 in the Kalmanovitz Moot Courtroom (1001 King Hall).

This year’s competitors were for the Zachary Schultz and Nathan Zhang for Petitioner and Kara DiBiasio and Lauren Hererra for the Respondent. The competitors argued two issues: first, whether a school could punish a student for blogging from home damaging insinuations about a fellow student when that blog was followed by students and may have resulted in on campus disruption; and second, whether an adverse inference ruling is proper against a party who negligently, though without bad faith, spoliated evidence sought by an opposing party.

This year’s esteemed panel of judges featured the Honorable Raymond C. Fisher of the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Honorable John A. Mendez of the U.S District Court for the District of California, the Honorable William B. Shubb, Senior District Court Judge for the Eastern District of California, and the Honorable Milan D. Smith, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The 42nd Annual Neumiller Competition

Congratulations to Jessica Hawk and Brittany Sachs for winning the 42nd Annual Irving L. Neumiller Memorial Moot Court Competition. The competition took place on Saturday, April 9, 2011 in the Kalmanovitz Moot Courtroom (1001 King Hall).

This year’s competitors were Jessica Hawk and Brittany Sachs for the Petitioner and Kurt Oldenburg and Jan Roos for the Respondent. The competitors argued two issues: first, what level of prejudice Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires to warrant a change of venue; and second, whether the state's partial taking of punitive damage awards constituted a taking under the Fifth Amendment.

This year’s panel consisted of the Honorable Chief Justice Walter L. Carpeneti of the Alaska Supreme Court, the Honorable Judge Michael Daly Hawkins of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Honorable Judge Morrison England, United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The annual Neumiller Competition is the final round of the year-long Moot Court competition. Top students from the appellate advocacy course are selected to compete in front of a panel of distinguished judges. The event takes place each spring and is open to the public.