Yasmin Assar Wins In Intrastate Moot Court Competition

2017 Apr 5

Yasmin Assar, of Stone Mountain, a Georgia State University College of Law student, was on the winning team that brought home the trophy and received the best brief recognition at the Intrastate Moot Court Competition on March 24-25, hosted by the College of Law.

Assar was part of Team A, which beat the University of Georgia School of Law in the final round.

The entire team was comprised of Yasmin Assar (J.D. '18), Eleanor Miller (J.D. '18) and Chadwick Williams (J.D. '18).

Two teams from each of Georgia's six law schools participate in the annual competition.

The championship round was judged by judges from the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Northern District of Georgia, and attorneys in the Atlanta community.

"Facing a very hot bench, our Team A acquitted themselves extremely well in the final," said Patrick Wiseman, professor of law.

The problem was about a same-sex couple who adopted a child together before the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that struck down same-sex marriage bans across the entire country.

Since they could not legally marry at the time, only one party was allowed to put her name on the adoption papers. They signed agreements laying out joint custody and child support should they separate, which they did years later (still prior to Obergefell). The adoptive mother severed contact between the child and non-adoptive mother, who then sued to enforce the agreement.

The team had a rigorous practice schedule. They spent two weeks to processing the problem and writing the brief, and then practiced about five times per week for four weeks.