The Gale Cup, one of Canada's oldest moot competitions, takes place every February in Toronto at Osgoode Hall with judging panels made up of presiding judges drawn from various jurisdictions across in Canada. The rules for the preparation and exchange of facta and the procedures for the hearing of oral argument are based upon Canadian appellate practice.
Normally, the problem to be mooted is drawn from a case recently decided in the Supreme Court of Canada. The case is chosen with a view to providing significant legal issues with strong arguments to be made on both sides. In effect, students are appealing a Supreme Court decision to a "higher" court - the moot court of the Gale Cup Competition.
Professor Peter Sankoff, Brendan Gould (2L), Nora Kharouba (2L), Mandy Kahlmeier (2L) and Katherine Fraser (2L)The Gale Cup Moot is a demanding competition with little room for error. Universities from across Canada send teams to participate, and this year, eighteen of Canada's twenty-two civil and common law faculties were involved. Four mooters from each team are split into appellants and respondents, and each pair gets just one chance to prove their merit in the preliminary round. Only four of the eighteen teams are chosen to advance to the finals. U of A last made the final round in 2002, and has won the Cup just once, in 2001.
This year's moot tackled the complex Supreme Court decision in R v DAI, 2012 SCC 5, which dealt with an evidence problem in the criminal context. Specifically, the case considers under what circumstances a mentally disabled witness should be permitted to testify in a criminal trial. At the Supreme Court, McLachlin CJ, writing for a majority, suggested that the threshold for competence should be low, and that it was improper to focus on the witness's capacity to understand what it means to tell the truth. Binnie J, in dissent, thought otherwise, suggesting that such an inquiry was mandatory.
Brendan Gould (2L), Mandy Kahlmeier (2L), Nora Kharouba (2L) and Katherine Fraser (2L)This year's team of Katherine Fraser (2L), Mandy Kahlmeier (2L)(appellants) and Brendan Gould (2L), and Nora Kharouba (2L)(respondents) began preparing for the moot in late October, along with Professor Peter Sankoff, the team's coach. Sankoff was pleased with the team's work ethic from the outset, noting that the mooters "worked as diligently as any team I have ever been associated with. They set a standard of excellence from Day 1, and acted professionally throughout, representing Alberta with distinction."
The first round, on Friday evening, was a bilingual moot contested against the University of Moncton. It was heard before Justice Beard of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, Justice Brunton of the Quebec Superior Court, and Justice Assaraf of the Quebec Municipal Court. It was well argued on both sides, but Sankoff felt that "Nora and Brendan gave outstanding performances, and received high praise from the judges after the moot. We felt confident heading into Saturday's round that we were definitely in the running for the finals."
Brendan Gould (2L), Mandy Kahlmeier (2L), Professor Peter Sankoff, Nora Kharouba (2L) and Katherine Fraser (2L)On Saturday morning, our appellants were matched against the University of New Brunswick in an extremely competitive moot before Justice Goudge of the Ontario Court of Appeal, and Justices Moore and Newton of the Ontario Court of Justice. Sankoff noted that the UNB team performed well, demonstrating poise and eloquence throughout. But Kahlmeier and Fraser were not to be denied. "In my opinion, our appellants gave what I believe to be the performance of the competition. It was an outstanding effort, one of the best student mooting performances I've ever seen, actually."
After Saturday morning's moot, all teams gathered for lunch in the historic Osgoode Hall Barrister's Lounge. Though the lunch was delicious, and students were captivated both by the surroundings and the company - as judges eat alongside the students - it's hard for competitors to stay focused on anything but the upcoming results. Keeping with tradition, right after lunch an announcement is made, and the four finalists names are placed in the Gale Cup and drawn out one-by-one. To the team's great delight, U of A was the second name announced. After a quick round of congratulations, Mandy Kahlmeier and Brendan Gould were getting ready to moot against Université de Laval before a panel composed of Justice Wagner of the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Hilton of the Quebec Court of Appeal and Justice Beard of the Manitoba Court of Appeal.
Brendan Gould (2L), Mandy Kahlmeier (2L), Professor Peter Sankoff, Nora Kharouba (2L) and Katherine Fraser (2L)"It's not easy in the finals," said Sankoff. "The team had less than an hour to prepare and cut our arguments in half (in the finals, mooters get only fifteen minutes to argue, as opposed to thirty in the preliminary round), plus deal with a factual variation on the original problem. It was a very tough panel, but Mandy and Brendan performed extremely well, answering a battery of questions from the judges, and staying poised throughout."
In the end however, the U of A fell just short of achieving its goal of winning the Gale Cup, but was still proud to finish 3rd overall behind Osgoode Hall and UQAM. In addition, Mandy Kahlmeier was awarded a coveted Dickson Prize as Best Oralist in the preliminary round.
"I simply cannot say enough about our team," said Sankoff. "They showed from the outset what can be done through hard work, perseverance and a commitment to excellence. Each of them told me this was an experience they will remember throughout their careers, and something that will make them better lawyers. I heard nothing but praise for their amazing performance from judges, Gale Cup organizers and other teams alike."
Brendan Gould (2L), Nora Kharouba (2L), Katherine Fraser (2L) and Mandy Kahlmeier (2L)Sankoff and the team wished to thank the incredible group of practice judges who helped prepare them for the moot by giving up their time and providing invaluable commentary. Practice judges included U of A 3L students (and last year's competitors) Belinda Chiang, Matthew Blimke and Gareth Reeves; Professors Steven Penney, Wayne Renke, Matt Lewans and Stella Varvis; Justice Sheila Greckol; local attorneys Bob Aloneissi, Sue Hughson, Troy Couillard, Michael Sparks and Don McCannell ; and Toronto practitioners Susan Chapman, Enzo Rondinelli and Karen Ensslen. Thanks are also owed to Jane Fagnan for translating the Moncton factum, and for Stella Varvis and Vice Dean John Law for their support throughout.
Brendan Gould (2L), Nora Kharouba (2L), Professor Peter Sankoff, Katherine Fraser (2L) and Mandy Kahlmeier (2L)The U of A Faculty of Law's participation in the Gale Cup moot competition was made possible in large part due to a generous annual gift from the Edmonton firm of Beresh Cunningham. "The Faculty's competition moot programme has benefited traditionally from the contribution of lawyers serving as coaches, mentors, and judges," commented Vice Dean John Law. "In recent years, this has also taken the form of financial support from firms, such as Beresh Cunningham, thus allowing the Faculty to continue its strong participation in national and international moot competitions. The Faculty of Law is very thankful for this support."
Professor Peter Sankoff Brendan Gould (2L), Nora Kharouba (2L), Katherine Fraser (2L) and Mandy Kahlmeier (2L)
Click here to read the interviews
with the U of A Law Gale Cup Moot team.