Moot Court
St. Thomas University College of Law
About Us
The Moot Court Board of the St. Thomas University College of Law is hereby created to foster excellence in written and oral advocacy and competition. The Moot Court Board provides equal access and equal opportunity without regard to race, color, national origin, age, political affiliations or opinions, religion, marital status, veteran status, handicap status, sexual orientation, or gender.
Executive Board Members
Meet the members of the Moot Court Executive Board.
Maria Duarte-Matute
President
Christopher Fraga-Vasquez
Vice President of Membership
Lourdes Morales
Vice President of Competitions
Daniel Avila
Executive Vice President
Antoinette Gonzalez-Hurtado
Vice President of Membership
Carolina Baca
Vice President of Competitions
Farris Abusad
Vice President of Financial Affairs
Alexia Betancourt
Vice President of Internal Affairs
Elizabeth Ruiz
Vice President Alumni Relations
Faculty Advisors
Armando Hernandez, Esq.
Armando Hernandez graduated from St. Thomas University School of Law, magna cum laude in 2010. Mr. Hernandez was an Executive Board Member for the St. Thomas Moot Court Board. He was also Executive Editor of the St. Thomas Law Review. Mr. Hernandez was a semi-finalist in the John J. Gibbons National Moot Court Competition, awarded Moot Court Best Oralist in the 2008 Intramural Competition, and received a scholarship for Oral Advocacy. He was a member of the Appellate Litigation Clinic while at STU Law. From 2010-2017, Mr. Hernandez served as Alumni Coach for countless moot court competitions, including, Gibbons, Wechsler, Zehmer, and Orseck.
Armando is the founder and managing partner of Law Offices of Armando G. Hernandez. He specializes in litigation in a variety of practice areas including personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, first-party matters, commercial litigation, construction litigation, and much more. He has extensive trial and appellate experience in cases in state and federal courts. He has been recognized as a Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Lawyer (Product Liability Finalist), Top 40 Under 40 in South Florida, Florida Super Lawyers Rising Star, Florida Legal Elite Up & Comer, HYPE Go Getter Award Finalist, amongst other accolades.
Aileen P. Hernandez, Esq.
Aileen P. Hernandez graduated from St. Thomas University School of Law, magna cum laude in 2010. While at St. Thomas Law, Mrs. Hernandez was the Vice President of Membership for the St. Thomas Moot Court Board, a Senior Articles Editor for the St. Thomas Law Review, and member/competitor of the St. Thomas Mock Trial Team. Aileen was a part of the Appellate Litigation Clinic (2009-2010), during which she successfully argued O.B. v. State of Florida (2010), a noteworthy case in Florida’s Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. From 2010-2017, Aileen served as Alumni Coach for countless moot court competitions including, Gibbons, Prince, San Diego Criminal Procedure, and Orseck.
Mrs. Hernandez is a Senior Supervising Attorney at the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office. She has extensive trial experience in felonies, misdemeanors, and juvenile. She has been recognized as a Top 40 Under 40 in South Florida as well as the prestigious Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s (FACDL) James Miller Award as a rising star in criminal defense and liberty’s last champion.
STU Law Blog
Apparently, We Needed a Reminder: The Separation of Powers Clause Does Not Apply to City Hall
Recently, in City of Tampa v. Liberty Hospitality Management, LLC, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal, discussed an unusual issue in a rezoning dispute. The question before the court was: whether a circuit court has jurisdiction to review a...
When “A” Clarifies the Rule: A Florida Appellate Court Decision on Mobile Home Park Class Actions
Sometimes the interpretation of a single word can alter the course of litigation. In a recent decision involving two Florida mobile home park associations, a single article, “a,” reshaped how entire communities must pursue relief in court.[i] In...
Hallucinated Justice: Florida’s Fourth DCA Warns Against AI-Fabricated Legal Authority
On March 11, 2026, the Fourth District Court of Appeal of Florida issued its per curiam opinion in Roussell v. Bank of New York Mellon, affirming the trial court’s judgment on the merits but writing separately to address a troubling issue: the...
Moot Court Schedule
Updated January 2026
2026 Uvaldo Herrera National Moot Court Competition
March 11-12, 2026
Student Coach: Delaney Nix
Alumni Coach: Naor Rom
2026 John J. Gibbons Moot Court Competition
MArch 20-21, 2o26
Student Coach: Daniel Avila
Alumni Coach: Armando Hernandez & Aileen Hernandez
2026 Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition
March 26-28, 2026
Student Coach: Christopher Fraga Vasquez
Alumni Coach: Jennifer Delgado
Other Alumni and Legal Professionals
Thank you to all other alumni and local attorneys who volunteer their time as guest judges or coaches throughout the academic year!
Alumni Newsletter
We welcome every one of you to help us as we plan future events and mentoring opportunities for our members. Your support will be greatly appreciated by every one of us. After all, we are all stronger when we work together, and we cannot do this without you.
Support Us
With your support, we will register more members for competitions, host professional development workshops, and much more.