WAU HONORS COLLEGE ANNOUNCES NEW MOCK TRIAL COACHES
TAKOMA PARK, MD — The WAU Honors College unveiled its new Mock Trial coaches for the 2023-2024 academic year: Renee Battle-Brooks and Sonny Moretta, both proud WAU alumni. They’re on board to mentor the team through the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) competitions slated for early 2024.
WAU stands as the sole Seventh-day Adventist higher education member of the AMTA.
Both coaches bring a dynamic set of competencies. Battle-Brooks’ career predominantly revolves around litigation, serving 19 years as a prosecutor and 8 years as a public defender in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Moretta, a newer entrant in the legal world, is a Law Clerk for Judge Cynthia H. Jones of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
WAU students eyeing Mock Trial involvement first tackle ‘The American Judicial System’, a course overseen by Professor Nicholas Miller. The newly appointed coaches will guide the ‘practical’ segment of this course, helping scholars comprehend litigation tactics and AMTA case intricacies.
The 2023-2024 Mock Trial ensemble, comprised of 6-10 students, will dive into a criminal case — State of Midlands v. B.F. De la Porta and Poe Cameron. Regional showdowns against peer universities are set for February and March 2024.
For inquiries on Pre-Law studies or Mock Trial involvement at WAU, reach out to honorscollege@wau.edu.
Background on the Coaches:
Renee Battle-Brooks dedicated much of her legal journey to litigation, serving first as an Assistant Public Defender in Maryland and later as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Prince George’s County. She’s recognized for her 12-year specialty in prosecuting child abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking offenses. In 2018, she took the helm as the Executive Director of the Prince George’s County Office of Human Rights, endorsed by County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. Community involvement remains her forte, evident from her leadership roles like the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault board’s presidency. Battle-Brooks is a Washington Adventist University alumna with a B.S. in Business Administration.
Sonny A. Moretta, currently assisting Judge Cynthia H. Jones, graduated from WAU in 2020, majoring in Political Studies. He later secured his Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law in 2023. His law school days saw him championing roles such as a Rule 19 Student Attorney, advocating for clients pursuing post-conviction relief. Moretta’s experience includes a tenure at Baltimore firm Bouland & Brush LLC and an internship with the Office of Chief Counsel for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He is a recipient of the Carey School of Law Public Service Award.