Out of a stiff group of competitors, Jake Weber ’25, a rhetoric major and brother of Tau Kappa Epsilon, was named top advocate at the 31st moot court competition on October 24.
Moot court is an annual co-curricular competition sponsored by the Wabash Club of Indianapolis and the rhetoric department. Each fall, a group of students get a new case, often it’s one tracking towards the supreme court. The moot court question is never an easy one, and this year’s competition was no exception. Contests were asked: Can a state prohibit parents from obtaining gender affirming care for their transgender children?
When moot court is in session, students (referred to as “advocates”) must stand in front of a panel of judges and make arguments for their assigned sides while the judges attempt to poke holes in the students’ arguments. The competition is split into three rounds, with advocates being eliminated after each round, culminating in a final leaving two advocates for each side. While the competition is open to any interested student, moot court draws particular attention from men interested in a potential career in the legal field as Wabash is one of the few undergraduate programs to offer the appellate-based contest.
“I’m always impressed and humbled by the dedication of the students and alumni. This is an extracurricular activity that students take very seriously because they recognize they will build skills, knowledge, confidence, and connections with alumni,” said Professor of Rhetoric Jeff Drury, one of the contest organizers. “You can feel the energy and excitement — and sometimes apprehension — in the air prior to each round.”
Despite this year’s difficult and complex topic, the organizers were impressed with student performance in the preliminary rounds.
“Students have responded very well to this year’s topic,” said Scott Himsel ’85, associate professor of political science and pre-law advisor. “Gender transition care for minors is complex and challenging. There is a good counter-argument for virtually every point an advocate can make.”
The 31st moot court final was contested on Thursday, October 24 between Tobey Condon ’26 and Elijah Wetzel ’27, who argued for the minors and parents seeking gender affirming care, and Gabe Pirtle ’25 and Jake Weber ’25, who argued the states’ side. William Boswell ’26 was selected as the alternate.
After all four of the advocates had taken their turn and the judges returned from their deliberations, Weber was awarded the 2024 moot court victory. He was also awarded the Floyd Artful Advocacy Award by the moot court organizers.