A West VirginiaUniversity law student from Morgantown, David Matthew Jecklin, has won this years prestigious Baker Cup competition for successfully arguing a case before the West Virginia Supreme Court during its annual visit to the WVU College of Law Tuesday, March 25.


Presiding over the case were Chief Justice Larry Starcher, Justice Robin Davis, Justice Joseph Albright, Justice Warren McGraw and Justice Elliot Maynard .


Jecklin, a second-year law student originally from Bloomington, Ill., and Jason Roma, a second-year law student from Huntington, competed in the mock trial titled Smith v. People of the State of Calizona .


In the case, Smith sued the State of Calizona questioning whether her Fourth Amendment rights, which deal with search and seizure, were violated when she was stopped and her car searched in response to an anonymous tip, and if the sentence she received, 25 years to life imprisonment, violated the Eighth Amendments proscription against cruel and unusual punishment.


Jecklin earned his undergraduate degree in radio and television from Southern Illinois University before moving to West Virginia 11 years ago to work in radio journalism. Today, he works for AJG Broadcasting in Morgantown as general manager of a radio station and is also an intern with the law offices of Gianola, Barnum&Wigal.


He and his wife, Kristy, have three children: Christian, Brendan and Lauren.


In honor of his achievement, Jecklins name will be engraved on the law schools Baker Cup trophy, and he will receive $500 and a plaque. Jecklin also received a commemorative certificate for Best Oral Advocate.


The runner-up, Roma, graduated with a degree in social work from MarshallUniversity. Roma works as a law clerk for Offutt, Fisher&Nord in Huntington.


He currently lives in Morgantown with his wife and classmate, Alice Oxley-Roma, and their son, Noah Oxley Roma. His parents are Carmen Roma Wilson and Dan Wilson.


Roma will receive $350 and a plaque as runner-up in the competition.


Tammy Bowles, originally from Meadowbridge, was awarded a commemorative certificate as Best Brief Writer in the competition.


The Baker Cup Endowment was established in 1980 to acknowledge second-year law students for outstanding legal expertise. It was created by the daughters of Judge George Coleman Baker, a distinguished Morgantown lawyer and 1886 law school graduate.