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Hinton Moot Court 2023

A student stands at the podium in the Weymouth Kirkland Courtroom before a panel of three judges seated at the bench. Two desks with students are behind the podium, and the audience looks on.
The final round of the Edward W. Hinton Moot Court competition was argued on April 19 before a panel of three federal judges.
Two students in suits sit at desk with binders, papers, and a laptop strewn in front of them.
The four finalists, in two-person teams, argued the takings clause case, Tyler v. Hennepin County. Here, the respondents, Stephen Vukovits, ’24, and Jaden Lessnick, ’23, go over notes. (The real case on which the moot court arguments were based is being argued before the US Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 26.)
Two students in professional attire look at a legal pad in a folio.
The case centers on whether Hennepin County, Minnesota, violated the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause by keeping the surplus of a condo sale after seizing the title to satisfy unpaid property taxes. The petitioner, Geraldine Tyler, also argued that $25,000 surplus that the county kept from the sale should be considered an “excessive fine,” as defined by the Eighth Amendment. Here, the petitioners, Connie Gong, ’23, and Courtney Green, ’24, confer.
The winning students hold up their trophies in a posed photo with the dean of the Law School, Thomas J. Miles
The respondents, Lessnick and Vukovits, took first place, earning the Hinton Cup. Here, they pose with Dean Thomas J. Miles.
The second place students hold up their trophies in a posed photo with the dean of the Law School, Thomas J. Miles
The petitioners, Green and Gong, took second place, earning the Llewellyn Cup. Here, they pose with Dean Thomas J. Miles.
Four students holding their trophies pose behind the three judges at the bench.
The four competitors pose with the three judges. Front row, from left: Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington of the US District Court of the Middle District of Florida, Judge Raymond J. Lohier, Jr., of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Eric E. Murphy, ’05, of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Back row, from left: Jaden Lessnick, ’23, Stephen Vukovits, ’24, Courtney Green, ’24, and Connie Gong, ’23.

The final round of the Edward W. Hinton Moot Court competition was argued on April 19 before a panel of three federal judges. The competition began with 60 second- and third-year law students who participated in the preliminary round in the fall. Fourteen semi-finalists advanced to the second round, which took place during winter quarter.

The four finalists, in two-person teams, argued the takings clause case, Tyler v. Hennepin County, before a panel that included Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington of the US District Court of the Middle District of Florida, Judge Raymond J. Lohier, Jr., of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Eric E. Murphy, ’05, of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. (The real case on which the moot court arguments were based is being argued before the US Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 26.)

The respondents, Jaden Lessnick, ’23, and Stephen Vukovits, ’24, took first place, earning the Hinton Cup. The petitioners, Courtney Green, ’24, and Connie Gong, ’23, took second place, earning the Llewellyn Cup.

The case centers on whether Hennepin County, Minnesota, violated the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause by keeping the surplus of a condo sale after seizing the title to satisfy unpaid property taxes. The petitioner, Geraldine Tyler, also argued that $25,000 surplus that the county kept from the sale should be considered an “excessive fine,” as defined by the Eighth Amendment.