UM Law School's Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court Board Members Compete in the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC)
The University of Miami School of Law’s Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court Board continued its success at this year’s ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) in Brooklyn, New York. One of the Miami teams, consisting of third-year student Randi Maves and second-year students Richard Jones and Kristy Militello, advanced to the quarter-finals of the competition! The second team, consisting of third-year students David Luck and Dave Ruffner and second-year student Todd Allison, also competed admirably against fierce competition.
L-R: 3L David Luck, 2L Todd Allison, 3L Dave Ruffner, Judge Wells,
Chief Judge Cope, Judge Lagoa, 2L Richard Jones, 3L Randi Maves, and 2L Kristy Militello
Long considered one of the most prestigious moot court competitions in the nation, the NAAC competitors participated in a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The competition required the drafting of a 40 page brief and three preliminary oral argument rounds where the teams were required to argue both on and off-brief. The first issue of this year’s competition involved the legality of a vehicle search under the Fourth Amendment where the suspect was already restrained when the search took place and evidence was not likely to be found in the car. The second issue involved the legality of a shaming sentence under the Sentencing Reform Act.
In an incident likely to become moot court legend, the lights turned off at the federal court house during Luck and Ruffner’s first oral argument round. As the first competitor for that round, Luck began his oral argument with the lights on. Halfway through his argument, however, the lights turned off and the judges asked Luck to continue his argument in the dark. When Luck finished, Ruffner approached the podium and gave his entire oral argument in the dark. Without windows in the courtroom, Luck and Ruffner were unable to see their notes, the record, their bailiff, or the judges. The lights turned on right before the opposing team, from Brigham Young University, stepped up to the podium to begin their arguments. Despite such unfortunate luck, the Miami team competed exceedingly well and narrowly lost the round.
The competitors’ coaches, Professor Coombs and Professor Vladeck, worked extensively with both teams to prepare them for their oral arguments. Local attorneys and other UM professors also sat in as judges throughout the teams’ preparations. The final practice round was argued at the University of Miami in front of Chief Judge Gerald B. Cope Jr., Judge Barbara Lagoa, and Judge Linda Wells of the Third District Court of Appeal.
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posted 8-March-2007
