MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Every spring semester, a group of WVU Law students face each other in the George C. Baker Cup Moot Court Competition. Their goal: reach the final round argued before the Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and hoist the Baker Cup trophy in victory.
Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Blake Humphrey and Makeia Jonese from competing in the Baker Cup final round. On their way to the final, however, Humphrey won Best Brief and Jonese earned Best Oralist honors.
And while they were to be rivals in the Baker Cup final, Humphrey and Jonese were also teammates on WVU Law's 2020 National Moot Court Team, which advanced to the regional competition final rounds.
These were extraordinary circumstance in the history of the Baker Cup, which dates to 1968. Because of their performance as teammates on the national team and their individual success in reaching the final round, Humphrey and Jonese are being recognized as Baker Cup “co-champions” for 2020. They will split the winnings and their names will be engraved on the trophy.
"Blake and Makeia are both extremely talented students and they handled a difficult end to the competition with grace and good humor,” said Amy Cyphert, moot court advisor and Lecturer in Law. “While they did not ultimately get to have a live argument in front of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, I know that both will continue to shine as advocates and will continue to show the strength of resilience."
The 2020 Baker Cup problem involved whether law enforcement officers conducted an unlawful search under the Fourth Amendment by using a Radio Frequency ID key fob to access an apartment complex. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits unreasonable search and seizure by law enforcement and outlines requirements for determining probable cause and issuing warrants.
This year’s Baker Cup Moot Court Competition is taking place virtually, with the final round scheduled for March 23.
-WVU-
cb/1/28/21
