The SIU Simmons Law School will host the 35th SIU Simmons Law School's National Health Law Moot Court Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14. (Photo by Todd Duermyer)
November 10, 2026
SIU’s Health Law Moot Court looks at AI, also honors event’s ‘pillars’
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Law students from across the country will tackle complex health law issues in Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School's National Health Law Moot Court (HLMC) competition, the nation's only mock U.S. Supreme Court competition devoted exclusively to the field.
This year's competition, set for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14, recognizes four “pillars of health law” whose contributions helped shape the event and its broader academic program, now in its 35th year.
The honorees are Cheryl Anderson and W. Eugene Basanta, emeriti law faculty members; Dr. Marsha Ryan, an adjunct faculty member; and Ted LeBlang, an emeritus professor of law and medicine at the SIU School of Medicine. Four awards named in their honor recognize their significant contributions to the competition and the broader health law program. A celebration honoring the four is from 4:30-6 p.m. Friday at the law school.
Media availability
For more information on the SIU Simmons Law School National Health Law Moot Court and to arrange the best times for interviews on Saturday, Nov. 14, contact Michael Ruiz, competition director, at michaelpierreruiz@gmail.com.
Simmons Law School Dean Hannah Brenner Johnson said that throughout the life of a law school, initiatives and the faculty who support them often come and go.
“The HLMC competition, by contrast, has been a constant at our law school for the past 35 years,” she said.
Brenner Johnson offered a few thoughts on each of the four honorees and their impact with the HLMC competition.
Anderson: “She carried this competition forward with remarkable dedication; generations of our students are stronger researchers, writers, and advocates because of her teaching and mentorship.”
Basanta: “He helped build a bridge between the SIU law and medical schools. “The National Health Law Moot Court competition he helped bring to Carbondale in 1992 remains one of the clearest expressions of his vision.”
LeBlang: “His scholarship and leadership helped define the field of legal medicine, and he played a foundational role in making the law school the permanent home of the National Health Law Moot Court competition.”
Ryan: “Her career “as a physician and lawyer impacted hundreds of our students in her health law classes, and through the creation of her Bioethicist-in-Residence program, made sure the hardest ethical questions in health care would always have a place at the law school.”
AI use in medicine: A fictitious case study
This year’s fictional case asks students to grapple with emerging issues in the use of artificial intelligence in medicine. Kaitlyn Poirer, an associate professor of law at SIU Simmons Law, described the fictional case. It centers on a retired steelworker in a rural county with few medical providers. For years, the steelworker used AI diagnostic tool offered through a regional health system’s telehealth portal for his health care needs. The tool repeatedly told him his scans showed no sign of lung cancer, but it had missed a growing tumor. The steelworker was eventually diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and, after an emergency hospitalization, died the following year. The steelworker’s widow sued both the health system and tool’s developer after her husband’s death.
Poirer said competitors will argue two issues:
- Whether the health system can be held liable for the AI’s errors despite a disclaimer in its online terms and conditions.
- Whether the lawsuit was filed too late under state law.
Teams will compete in the law school’s Hiram H. Lesar Law Building with preliminary rounds beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday. The final round at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Rhode Covington Moot Court Room, will be livestreamed via Teams. The final round video will also be available on the law school’s moot court board YouTube channel. The livestream link will be posted on the YouTube channel Friday morning.
The final-round judges are Illinois Supreme Court Justice David K. Overstreet; U.S. District Chief Judge for the Southern District of Illinois Staci M. Yandle; Perry Browder, Illinois State Bar Association president, and Dr. Amir Pasha, American College of Legal Medicine president and assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.
Competition run by SIU law students
The competition is run primarily by second- and third-year SIU Simmons Law School students who comprise the Moot Court Board. As the event host, SIU’s moot court team does not compete. Sponsors are SIU Simmons Law School, the American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM), the American Health Law Association (AHLA) and Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH).
Alumni Weekend begins Thursday
In addition to the health law moot court competition, the law school is hosting its inaugural Alumni Weekend, Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 12-14.
The alumni weekend was created because of the volunteer attorneys who help judge the HLMC competitions early rounds — many of whom are SIU Simmons Law School graduates, Brenner Johnson said. The competition brings together alumni to connect with their peers and members of the law school community.
“We are so very excited to host Alumni Weekend in conjunction with our flagship moot court competition,” she said.
Carly Holtkamp, the law school’s assistant director of development with the SIU Foundation, said the alumni weekend provides a chance for Salukis to reconnect with the law school, faculty, students and region. Activities include an open house, welcome reception, alumni luncheon and Saluki football game.
“The goal is to make the most of their return to Southern Illinois while strengthening connections to the law school and the broader SIU Law community,” Holtkamp said.