Five Philadelphia high school students who had been coached by Kline School of Law students took part in the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional  Literacy Project’s national moot court competition at American University on March 28 and 29.

The five teens were among 70 high school students who took part in the national contest, which included teens from 14 cities across the U.S.

Three of the teens coached by Kline School of Law students prevailed over rivals in the national contest, advancing to the semi-final and final rounds.

Students from Carver Engineering and Science High School, Mastery Charter School and the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts advanced to the semi-final rounds, among the top 16 competitors. The CAPA student then advanced to the finals, competing against teens coached by law students from Yale, William Mitchell College of Law and the University of Colorado.

3Ls Kevin Farrington and Ian Oakley coached CAPA student and finalist Camille Pileggi.

2Ls Jenna Farr and Shaina Hicks coached Carver student and semi-finalist Justin Roberts.  

2Ls Antonio Bonanni and Dredeir Roberts coached Mastery Charter student and semi-finalist Kayonna Tindle.

2Ls Kelsey Knish and Jesse Proctor coached Franklin Learning Center student Mariam Trent, while 2Ls Max Goldberg, Parthiv Patel and Kelsey Trainor coached Franklin Learning Center student Darrielle Mobley.

All five teens had prevailed in the local competition in January.  They had been mentored by law students over the course of the academic year.  As part of the Marshall-Brennan project, law students teach teens about the importance of the U.S. legal system and the Constitution, grooming some to compete in moot court contests.  

At the national competition, teens had been coached by law students from 13 other institutions, including American University, Arizona State University, the University of Connecticut, the University of New Mexico, Rutgers University and Washington University.