TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Florida State University College of Law Moot Court Team has won the leading national competition in constitutional law.

The team, which was seeded first throughout the tournament, placed first in the 2009 James Braxton Craven, Jr. Moot Court Competition on Feb. 28. The competition was held in Chapel Hill, N.C., and was sponsored by the University of North Carolina School of Law.

The winning team members were law students Robert Powell of Fort Walton Beach and Ramona Thomas of Orlando. In addition to the team’s first-place finish, Thomas was named Best Oralist in the competition. The team was coached by Florida State Law Professor Nat Stern.

“We are all very proud of our Moot Court Team’s victory,” said Dean Don Weidner. “This win follows on the heels of a year in which our Moot Court Team won five best brief awards in national competitions.”

The 24 law schools competing included American University Washington College of Law, Boston College Law School, Duke University School of Law, George Mason School of Law and William & Mary Law School. The final round of competition was judged by a federal judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, a current North Carolina Supreme Court justice and a retired North Carolina Supreme Court justice.