South Texas alum Alan Curry, Assistant District Attorney in Harris County, argued and won Salinas v. Texas before the Supreme Court this past term. I noted his success in a piece I wrote for the South Texas alumni magazine.

In the most recent issue of The Texas Prosecutor, Alan walks through the road to the Supreme Court. I played a tiny role in this process, as I worked with the College to organize a moot for our alum.

Scott Durfee, one of our most knowledgable attorneys, suggested that we reach out to Erin Busby, an attorney who had clerked at the Supreme Court and who also was a member of the faculty for the Supreme Court Clinic at the University of Texas. I also contacted David Gunn, a friend and one of the best civil appellate attorneys in Texas, and he directed me to Josh Blackman, a professor at South Texas College of Law and President of the Harlan Institute, and Will Consovoy, an experienced Washington, D.C. litigator and co-director of the Supreme Court Clinic at George Mason University School of Law. At Erin Busby’s and David Gunn’s suggestion, I also contacted David Frederick, who is also on the faculty of the Supreme Court Clinic at the University of Texas and who has literally written the book on oral advocacy before the United States Supreme Court. All of these individuals proved to be absolutely critical in helping prepare our brief before the Supreme Court and in helping me prepare for the oral argument.

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The most important factor in getting ready before the Supreme Court is the moot court arguments. Moots are practice arguments in which several attorneys grill you at length about the facts of the case and the law. Supreme Court moots are not easy. Professor Blackman helped get the first moot together just a couple of weeks before the scheduled argument on April 17, and the first moot was attended by Mr. Oldham, Mr. Aston, Professor Busby, and other attorneys, many of whom had themselves argued before or worked for the Supreme Court. This first moot was long, about an hour and a half.

Thanks to everyone involved in helping to moot and prepare Alan.

H/T Raychel J.