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More than 150 Schulich School of Law students, faculty and guests attended this year鈥檚 Smith Shield Moot, which took place at the Weldon Law Building on October 9, 2024. With a tradition dating back to 1927, Smith Shield competitors are chosen from the top mooters in the compulsory second-year moot.

This year鈥檚 mooters were Alex Harrison, Machel Maxwell, Rachel McMillan, and Anu Sidhu, arguing the case of听Sylvia Vaughn v. Derrick Chandler before听the Honourable Chief Justice Michael J. Wood, Nova Scotia Court of Appeal; the Honourable Justice Robin C.M. Gogan, Nova Scotia Court of Appeal; and Michelle Kelly, KC, First Vice-President, Nova Scotia Barristers鈥� Society. Harrison and Maxwell represented the appellant, Derrick Chandler; McMillan and Sidhu represented the respondent, Sylvia Vaughn.

The 2024 competition examined when and how a person should have control over their images and personal information. Schulich Law Assistant Professor Suzie Dunn, acting director of the Law & Technology Institute, served as coach听and also drafted the problem.

"I designed this year鈥檚 problem to address some of the challenges we face with protecting our identity and sexual privacy in the digital era,鈥� says Dunn. 鈥淥ften these types of cases are discussed in the context of intimate sexual partners or celebrities, but I wanted the students to grapple with these issues in a more complex and nuanced fact scenario that reflects the challenges that people, and sex workers in particular, face when engaging in life online. It was also a problem with little established case law, which required the students to be innovative with their arguments.鈥�

According to the case, Ms. Sylvia Vaughn runs a personal camgirl website where she livestreams herself in the nude engaging in sexual behaviours for the people viewing the session. Recently the defendant Mr. Derrick Chandler, another parent from her son鈥檚 school, sent screenshots of her nude images to the principal, teachers, and members of her son鈥檚 school board. After this incident, Mr. Chandler used one of the images he had screenshotted of Ms.听Vaughn along with her name on the cover of an e-book he was selling about how to advocate against sexual images online.

Ms. Vaughn commenced an action under the听Intimate Images and Cyber-Protection Act, claiming that her intimate images were distributed without her consent. She also brought an action under the tort of appropriation of personality.

From left: the Honourable Chief Justice Michael J. Wood, Alex Hamilton, Rachel McMillan, Anu Sidhu, Machel Maxwell, the Honourable Justice Robin C.M. Gogan, Michelle Kelly, K.C. (Photo by Bruce Bottomley)

The Supreme Moot Court of 鲍鱼tv was asked to determine if the听Intimate Images and Cyber-Protection Act听applied to the defendant鈥檚 emails containing the plaintiff鈥檚 images, and if the plaintiff had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her intimate images.

The Court also considered whether the tort of appropriation of personality applied to the book the defendant sold with the plaintiff鈥檚 name, image, and story.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 moot team was incredibly strong, they worked together seamlessly and put a lot of hours in supporting each other in their practices. Sensitive topics like this are difficult to discuss and they handled it with such professionalism and poise,鈥� says Dunn. 鈥淚 was so impressed with them. They will be great lawyers.鈥�

The winners of the 2024 Smith Shield Moot were Rachel McMillan and Anu Sidhu who received the A.S. Pattillo Prize in Advocacy. The runners-up were Alex Harrison and Machel Maxwell who were recognized with the Leonard A. Kitz Prize in Advocacy. David Gouws served as this year鈥檚 alternate.

Rachel McMillan and Anu Sidhu. (Photo by Bruce Bottomley)

鈥淚t was such an honour to be selected to participate, and I accepted a place on the team knowing it would be a challenge that pushed me outside of my comfort zone,鈥� says McMillan. 鈥淚t certainly did just that, but that is what makes the experience so rewarding! I feel very proud of the efforts we all made, and very grateful for the opportunity to learn from my classmates and our amazing coach.鈥�

Sidhu says it meant a lot to her to represent Schulich Law alongside her classmates in the Smith Shield.听 鈥淎 lot of preparation went into the moot and it was incredibly gratifying to see it all pay off. Professor Dunn played a huge role in that preparation, so our success also serves as a testament to her efforts.鈥�

Associate Dean (Academic) Professor Jodi Lazare says the students should be very proud of their performances. 鈥淭he mooters, frankly, blew my socks off. I know how hard they worked leading up to the event and that hard work paid off in spades. They were simply excellent." 听

Congratulations to the students who took part in this year鈥檚 Smith Shield Moot and thank you to our judges and everyone who contributed to making this year's event a success. We look forward to continuing the tradition next year!
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