Five Howard Payne University students recently competed in their first Moot Court tournament of the year, with three receiving top speaker awards. The event was held at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio.

HPU students who brought home awards were sophomore Bailey Myler, a Guy D. Newman Honors Academy major and social science jurisprudence major from Brownwood (fourth speaker); junior Jakob Morgan, a Guy D. Newman Honors Academy major and social science jurisprudence major from Blanket (sixth speaker); and freshman Jordan Hahn, a Guy D. Newman Honors Academy major and political science international studies major from Burnet (ninth speaker).

HPU took two Moot Court teams to the competition. The Moot Court 1 team was comprised of Hahn and freshman Andie McCoy, a Guy D. Newman Honors Academy major and social studies composite high school major from Whitehouse. Hahn and McCoy’s team advanced to the semi-finals. The Moot Court 2 team was comprised of Myler and junior Justin Harris, a social science jurisprudence major from Fort Worth. Morgan had the opportunity to partner with a student from The University of Texas San Antonio to form a hybrid team.

“This was our first competition of the 2016-2017 season, and I could not be more proud of our Moot Court team,” said Lorianna Kelly J.D., assistant professor of government and HPU Moot Court sponsor. “The entire team has worked hard to prepare arguments and practice answering difficult questions, and it is great to see that hard work pay off.  I can’t wait to see how well our team does throughout the season.”

In recognition of their achievement, Stephen M. Sheppard, dean of St. Mary’s University School of Law, awarded Hahn and McCoy with a $5,000 scholarship each. Sheppard also awarded a $2,500 scholarship to each of the other HPU team members.