By: Annabelle Moore

When the team from Texas Tech University School of Law stood to present their opening statement in the final round of this year’s Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law competition, they faced a stern panel of five black-robed judges.

All expert practitioners in International Humanitarian Law, the judges sat before three immense Tiffany stained-glass windows. Over one hundred years old, the windows in the Tiffany Room at the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross in Washington D.C. depict the power of unity to overcome human suffering from war and illness. A theme likely not lost on the law students, coaches, and professors invited from across the U.S., Canada, and South America to compete in the 10th annual rigorous mock-trial. 

Shelbi Stogdill, Kate Pennington, and Danielle Munstedt, all second-year law students at Tech, successfully navigated several rounds of legal simulations designed to give law students a taste of what it’s like to be an IHL professional during armed conflict.

The contest scenarios placed students in various roles as legal councils defending or prosecuting a case. Some rounds they role-played as the International Red Cross, others they were military JAG officers or civilian attorneys for a think tank organization. 

“It was really surreal,” said Kate. “I was like, wow, I’m really about to do this! Okay, here we go!” While the team may not have believed they’d make it to the final on Tech’s first visit to the competition, they certainly did the work to earn a seat. “At that point, we had done it so many times there was a really solidifying feeling like ‘Hey, we can do this!’”

Their journey to the final round against Georgetown University School of Law began months ago, when Kate saw an International Humanitarian Law class taught by Dr. Geoffrey Corn on the class schedule. Kate, who grew up in Northern Thailand, observed both the enormous benefit and dysfunction of international aid work when an NGO’s or person’s skill set may not effectively serve the needs of local communities. “I realized the next step for me was to have a practical skill that could actually engage people who are minorities or who are oppressed,” said Kate.

The desire to be a resource for the overlooked and unheard is shared by teammate Shelbi. “What sparked it for me is it’s really the best [way] to change someone’s life,” said Shelbi. “When you think of the most standard criminal law, people are facing losing their freedom. They may not understand what’s happening. That’s when they need help the most and you can advocate for them and tell their story.”

When Dr. Corn mentioned during the first week of class he’d like to get a team together to apply for the Clara Barton IHL competition, Kate and Shelbi immediately handed in their resumes. 

Dr. Corn selected the friends and fellow teammates, Danielle Munstedt and alternate Josephine Woytas. In December, their application was accepted by organizers as one of 15 international teams to compete. 

The Tech team spent the next few months memorizing international treaties, analyzing the Geneva Conventions, and practicing their public speaking skills, aided by classmate Sarah Jawan. The best way to prepare for constantly changing real-world situations was to expect the unexpected. So, they practiced mock-trials and were “peppered with questions” as they mooted old problems volleyed at them by coach Lt. Philip Fluegge (a prior student of Dr. Corn). 

On March 17th, the contest kicked off with two solo rounds in which each participant faced their own panel of judges. Students were handed a fact pattern booklet, which detailed their role and case information. Between 20 and 40 pages long, “you get 60 minutes to read it and develop a legal argument,” said Shelbi. “Once your 60 minutes are up you walk into the room, and you moot the problem.”

Kate and Shelbi both found the second round to be the most challenging. They role-played as the Red Cross visiting a detainee in a foreign detention center. The team brought food, water, literature, and tissues for the detainee, but they were taken aback by the uncooperative attitude of the detaining authorities. “For about 30 minutes they wouldn’t give us a single ounce of information,” said Shelbi. “And it was like how do you navigate getting everything the Red Cross would need when people are adversarial to you?”

As the detainers barked hostile questions “What are you doing here?! Why should we tell you anything? Who are you? How can we trust you?”, the students attempted to handle the detainers and interview the detainee, who sat in the corner of the unlit room. He was wrapped in a blanket and “rocking back and forth saying ‘help me, help me.’,” said Shelbi. 

The Tech Team had to swiftly adapt under the scrutinizing gaze of multiple judges who tallied up their scorecards. Role playing “helped us a lot in the competition—we believed we were the Red Cross when we walked into that room.”

World events inspired many of the scenarios. “There are people dealing with these actual situations and lives are forever changed,” said Kate. “[Simultaneously], you’re like ‘okay it’s pretend now’ but in a few years when we become practitioners we’ll have the ability to handle these moments where breaking news [changes] things and we have to address actual issues.”

The final round, an ICC tribunal, was both students’ favorite experience. “It was the culminating moment,” said Shelbi. All attendees and judges from prior rounds came to support, as they argued their case against Georgetown University Law Center. While intimidating to find themselves in the top two teams, Kate was excited “to present something that I knew was going to be quality. Because at that point it was like ‘just go for it. Win or lose!’”

That evening, Shelbi and Kate were too nervous to eat much at the awards dinner. First, organizers announced team recognitions for best application brief (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law) and the spirit of Clara Barton award (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul). Tech’s first victory came with Shelbi’s Honorable Mention for Best Oral Advocate. These awards highlighted students who eloquently argued their cases both fiercely and efficiently. 

Then, they announced Texas Tech University School of Law the overall 2023 winner. “Honestly, we were all just too stunned to speak because the Georgetown team was just so impressive,” said Shelbi. “I think we didn’t even say anything for about 30 seconds.”

When they graduate next year, Shelbi and Kate hope to continue into a career in International Humanitarian Law. Both felt the Clara Barton IHL competition was an outstanding opportunity to learn from ground-tested humanitarian law experts. In other law contests, “I’ve never felt like the feedback I was getting was so valuable,” said Shelbi. “I was being judged by people who genuinely knew what we were talking about and cared and wanted to be there.” 

“We really couldn’t have done this without Professor Corn and our coach Lt. Fluegge,” said Kate. “We’re just so grateful for the support we had and the time that was put into us. It wasn’t just us three up there.”