Friday, February 28, 2003

South Texas College of Law wins 13th annual National First Amendment Moot Court competition

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The team from South Texas College of Law won the 13th Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition today at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. Winning team members were Johanna Belford and Fletcher Trammell.

Runner-up in the two-day competition, sponsored by the First Amendment Center and the Vanderbilt University Law School, was the team from the University of Mississippi School of Law. Team members were Brad Moody and Clayton Dabbs.

Melissa M. Bean and Kathy Wyer of the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law were named for “best brief.” Named “best oralist” was Andrew Fausett of American University’s Washington College of Law.

More than 70 of the nation’s top law students from 36 law schools competed Feb. 27-28 in the only annual national moot court to focus solely on First Amendment issues.

This year’s hypothetical case argued in the Moot Court competition involved whether it was constitutional under the First Amendment to place federal statutory limits on the ability of individuals and corporations to invest their own money in political campaign activities on behalf of candidates they support.

“This is a case in which our society is divided, ideologically and in a partisan way, because the question is very difficult,” said Judge Gilbert S. Merritt, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the Moot Court judges. The importance of explaining the First Amendment issues in such cases is “the reason that the First Amendment Center and Vanderbilt Law School sponsor this competition.”

"It was a tremendous privilege to argue in front of such distinguished jurists,” said Trammell. “We really value the intellectual exchange and benefit that we derived from this competition. We enjoyed studying the First Amendment and learned it is still a vital and viable part of the Constitution."

A total of $5,000 in prizes was awarded to:

  • Winning team ($2,000): Johanna Belford and Fletcher Trammell, South Texas College of Law.
  • Runner-up ($1,000): Brad Moody and Clayton Dabbs, University of Mississippi School of Law.
  • Semi-finalists ($500 per team): Alyson Mathews and Jasmin J. Farhangian, Brooklyn Law School; Joseph P. Bowman and Heather M. Fryman, University of Kentucky College of Law.
  • Best brief ($500): Melissa M. Bean and Kathy Wyer, University of Utah – S.J. Quinney College of Law.
  • Best oralist ($500): Andrew Fausett, American University – Washington College of Law..

    • Receiving gavels were:

  • Runner-up best brief: Joseph P. Bowman and Heather M. Fryman, University of Kentucky College of Law.
  • Runner-up best oralist: Kristin Kemerer, Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School.

    • Final-round judges were: Judge Richard S. Arnold, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Robert L. Echols, chief judge, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee; Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Gilbert S. Merritt, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

    Semi-final round judges were: Judge Todd Campbell, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee; Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas; and Professor Erin A. O’Hara, Vanderbilt University Law School.

    The First Amendment Center works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education, and serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, and the right to assemble and petition the government. The First Amendment Center, with offices at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and Arlington, Va., is an independent affiliate of the Freedom Forum and is associated with the Newseum. Its affiliation with Vanderbilt University is through the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies.

    Press contact: Tiffany Villager, 615/727-1341