JAIMIE FRANKLIN
News Assistant
Chief Justice John Roberts will visit the Pepperdine School of Law on Saturday to judge the 34th annual Vincent S. Dalsimer Moot Court Competition and give the keynote address at the Law School Banquet later that evening.
Judge Edith Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of the Federal District Court in Texas, who also serves as chair of the United States Sentencing Commission, will judge the competition as well.
The annual Dalsimer competition allows second and third-year law students to argue a current legal problem.
This year, the problem deals with First Amendment free speech rights and due process on a college campus. Recent decisions from the Supreme Court in each of these areas have left the law contentious and unsettled, providing for interesting debate on both sides, according to Moot Court advisor Nancy McGinnis.
Law School Dean Ken Starr recently argued before the Supreme Court in the high-profile “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” case, which dealt with a student’s right to free speech at a school event.
Many students were drawn to the competition for the opportunity to argue in front of Roberts.
“Certainly the fact that the Chief Justice was coming to our campus was a huge draw to vie for the opportunity to argue before him,” McGinnis said.
Moot Court Board Chair and law student Andrea Prohaska added that students are excited for Roberts’ appearance.
“Students are extremely excited about him coming to our law school,” Prohaska wrote in an e-mail. “Some of our law school’s best advocates have worked extremely hard to advance to the final round on Saturday in order to argue in front of the Chief Justice.”
Twenty-four teams of two begin the competition by submitting case briefs summarizing their stance on the problem. In preliminary rounds, teams argue both sides of the case and winners of each round move on to finals.
While actual speaking time only totals to about 15 minutes per round for each team, hours of research and preparation are necessary. Many students begin reading case material months in advance, as third-year law student David Borsack pointed out.
“I knew that it would be very competitive,” said Borsack, who competed in preliminary rounds of the competition. “Overall it was a great experience and I learned a lot of sharp legal skills. To see the end product when arguing is great.”
McGinnis agreed that the competition requires an enormous amount of preparation.
“There is always a lot of behind-the-scenes work and students who choose to participate in this have to resolve the issues,” McGinnis said. “It’s a lot of work to be an advocate.”
The Pepperdine School of Law frequently hosts Supreme Court justices at events and seminars, and this year’s appearance by John Roberts is the result of his long-running relationship with Dean Starr and Professor Douglas Kmiec.
The three served together during the Reagan Administration and Roberts later served under Dean Starr in the Justice Department.
Quarter and semifinal rounds of the competition will be held at the law school tonight and the final round will be Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Winners will be announced at the law school dinner later that evening at the Wolfgang Puck Ballroom in Hollywood. Winners will receive cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
01-31-2008
