Van Oosterhout-Baskerville Domestic Competition
The Van Oosterhout-Baskerville Domestic Competition was established in honor of Richard Baskerville, a 1959 University of Iowa College of Law graduate, and Martin Van Oosterhout, a 1924 University of Iowa College of Law graduate and former Chief Justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.  Participation in the competition is restricted to the top 32 advocates of AA1 who express a desire to compete in a domestic law competition.

This competition is designed to sharpen the skills of the student advocate.  Each advocate will write 14 pages for their portion of the brief and will participate in at least two preliminary rounds of oral arguments.  In the first round, advocates argue the side and issue that they briefed.  On the second night, advocates will argue the same issue, but from their opponent’s side.  After the advocates have finished the second night of oral arguments, the Moot Court Board will calculate the advocates’ scores to determine who moves on to subsequent rounds.

The top six advocates of the domestic competition will form the National Moot Court Team in the fall semester of the following academic year.  In addition, the two top advocates and the two top oralists (those with the highest oral argument scores) will have the opportunity to perform oral arguments before the Iowa Supreme Court during the College of Law’s annual Iowa Supreme Court Day in the fall semester.