NICOLE ALBERTSON
Staff Writer
As many still around campus have noticed, The Pepperdine School of Law is the location of the much-publicized Floyd Landis arbitration. News vans, camera crews and the foreign press wait outside daily for the latest results of the testimony.
Landis, the 2006 Tour De France cycling Champion, tested positive last year for drug use by the United States Anti-Drug Agency (USADA). Landis requested a first ever public arbitration regarding USADA drug trials. Seven different tests were conducted and four of the seven came back with “abnormal testosterone profiles” according to the Associated Press.
Pepperdine volunteered the space that is now being used for the arbitration.
“Pepperdine gave them the space but other than there is no connection with the case,” said the Law School Public Relations Office.
Along with accommodating the Landis arbitration, the Law school also celebrated their graduation ceremony on Friday at Alumni Park.
“There will be no interference between the arbitration and graduation,” Public Relations said, “because they are held in the basement of the building, it is not causing any disruption to the Law School. It really is just a great opportunity for our students and faculty to have this case down the hall from them.”
At the end of the first week, the arbitration has undergone testimonies from the lab technician and encountered translation difficulties. Because this is an international issue, mainly between the United States and France a French-to-English translator has been needed to interpret the French scientific findings. The interpreter provided did not accurately translate the French witnesses and forced the court to break and recruit a new interpreter, reported the AP.
The arbitration concludes on May 23. Those interested in tickets to view the proceedings should contact Jessica Jones by calling (310) 506- 7114.
05-20-2007
