The Western Regional at CSULB

CSULB has hosted all six Western Regional Moot Court Tournament. The team of Hartnett and Hall won the Regional crown in 2002-03 and finished as runner’s up in 2003-04. CSULB students Tyson Thomas and Nina Flores were runners up in 2002-03. In 2003-04 Garciela Almada-Tavlavera and Jalyn Wang reached the tournament’s semi-finals. In 2004-05 and 2005-06 CSULB placed several teams into the Regional’s quarter-finals. Katelyn North was on both of these teams along with Annmarie Banchero (in 2004-05) and with Morgan Wheeler in 2005-06. In 2006-07, the hybrid team of Michalyn Thomas and Will Glaser made it to the regional semi-finals.  In 2007-08, CSULB placed one team in the quarter-finals, Mason Taylor and Anna Accomazzo, and an additional three in the sweet-sixteen.  Taylor and Accomazzo began a trend of near misses when they fell two points shy of upsetting the regional’s number one seed and eventual champions Will Glasser and Rebekah Ries (Patrick Henry College).  CSULB’s three additional sweet sixteen teams were Paige McCormack and Muhammad Ataya, Melissa Sanchez and Ted McNamara, and Cody Fitch and Ryan Mommaerts. 

The Western Regional has historically between very competitive and has earned a reputation as the best in the nation. In fact, in the six years since its inception of the Western Regional has produced three national champions in 2003, 2004, and 2006, (no other regional has produced more than one in that time), four finalists (2003, 2004, 2006, and 2008), and five semi-finalists (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008).  Teams travel from across the nation to compete at CSULB. To date, the regional has hosted teams from California, Utah, Virginia, Minnesota, Texas, Iowa, Arkansas, and Wisconsin. 

The Western Regional began in 2002 with ten teams (all from CSULB). Professor Renee Cramer was the Chair or Director and Professor Lewis Ringel was the Vice-Chair or Deputy Director. There were about 15 to 20 judges and the entire event was finished in one evening. All ten teams earned prizes. The winning team of Tommy Hartnett and Ja’Nene Hall defeated Tyson Thomas and Nina Flores. Hartnett and Hall went on to finish first at the American Collegiate Moot Court Association National Championship. Subsequent regional champion have come from University of Texas at Arlington (2003), Patrick Henry College (2004-2005), Weber State (2006), and Drake (2007).  The teams of Hartnett and Hall (CSULB 2002-03), Andrew Stubblefield and Mark Melton (UTA 2003-04), and Brian Wright and Rachael Williams (PHC 2005-06) have been crowned as national champions. Hartnett and Hall and Wright and Williams are the only teams to reach the Western Regional finals in consecutive years and Knight and Williams are the only Western Regional champion to successfully defend their title. The Weber State team of Danielle Stout and Veronica Lynaugh, an eight-seed after the preliminaries, won the 2006 title after completing three straight upsets in the quarter-finals. A Drake team of Katherine Wiley and Siva Kasinathan captured the 2007 crown in a thrilling 5-4 ruling that featured a court of two federal and one state judges.  The 2007, which featured twenty-six teams, was the largest in the regional’s history.  The regional featured perhaps the best panel of judges in the nation.  All told, the regional featured as judges two federal judges, seven state court judges, three federal law clerks, a past bar association president, county and city prosecutors, private practitioners, former mooters, CSULB professors, and the chancellor of Patrick Henry College.