“The consequences of what happened to Ms. Foster are no one’s fault but her own!” Fierce assertions such as this one echoed across a makeshift courtroom for over 45 minutes a few Wednesdays ago, as 25 members of ASD’s very own Law Society gathered for a moot court session.

The executives of the club, representing US Supreme Court Judges, held a proceeding of an appeal, in the following fictionalized case: Shelborne City Council vs. Foster. The case was contextualized as having been taken up to a higher court, following

Shelborne’s petition against what they alleged was an unfair ruling against them. Foster, a teacher suffering from perfectionism, had previously filed and won a lawsuit against the school board after suffering an anxiety attack, citing it as a workplace injury. Infuriated, the school council refused to accept this decision, bringing forth a refined defense strategy.

“We by no means forced her to stay,” argued one lawyer. “She could have left.” In response, 

Foster’s lawyers alleged the school simply hadn’t done enough to protect an employee while knowing she suffered from mental illness. However, Shelborne made sure to maintain their innocence on this matter, with attorney S. Hussain (’22) proclaiming that “her mental breakdown couldn’t have been predicted, thus removing the Shelborne County Council of any and all responsibility.”

Each side had their team split in two, with one taking up the responsibility of coming up with new arguments, and another iterating the flaws of the opposing side’s case from the previous case. “A large part of it involved thinking

in advance,” explained advocate L. Pacheco (’24). “We made sure we were always using insight to stay one step ahead of our opposition.”

This insightful thinking ultimately landed Shelborne a victory. Following deliberation from the judges, led by club president H. Ahelbarra (’23), the decision was made that Shelborne was, in fact, in the right to have appealed the decision. “Youth are ardent advocates for justice.” When asked about her decision to hold the moot court, Ahelbarra explained that “I did this to allow them to simulate experiences of such advocacy that many people here may choose to one day pursue in one way or another.”