UGA LAW SCHOOL MOOT COURT TEAM LEAVES FOR NATIONAL FINALS

Friday, January 26, 2001 WRITER: Kathy R. Pharr, (706) 542-5172, pharr@arches.uga.edu CONTACT: Kellie R. Casey, (706) 542-2739, krcasey@arches.uga.edu UGA LAW SCHOOL MOOT COURT TEAM LEAVES FOR NATIONAL FINALS ATHENS, Ga. - The University of Georgia School of Law attempts to reclaim the most coveted moot court championship in the country next week, as it sends three law students to New York City to compete in the finals of the country\u27s oldest and most prestigious moot court tournament, the National Moot Court Competition. The UGA team claimed the berth in November by sweeping the southeast regional round of the competition in Atlanta. Our team is prepared, said Kellie Casey, the law school\u27s director of advocacy. The students have worked very hard since November to stay on top of the issues and arguments. I feel optimistic about their performance and expect that they will impress every opponent and judge. The team will undoubtedly make the University of Georgia very proud. The University of Georgia has a well-established record of success in the National Moot Court Competition, having won the championship in 1997 and 1992, and having reached the quarterfinals of the competition seven times in the past decade. This year\u27s competitors are all third-year law students: Jennifer Auer of Eastman, Charlie Bethel of Dalton, and Anne Allen Westbrook of Savannah. They were undefeated on their way to the regional crown and captured Best Team and Best Brief honors as well as the Best Oralist award for Bethel. A total of 24 teams -- the best two teams from each of 12 regions -- will vie for the coveted national title at the House of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. The UGA team is scheduled to argue in preliminary rounds on Monday and Tuesday nights, January 29 and 30. The top 16 teams will argue in the octo-final round Wednesday afternoon (January 31), and the top eight teams will enter the quarter-final round that evening. The semi-final round will be held on Thursday afternoon, February 1, and the remaining two teams will face off in the final round on Thursday night. An awards ceremony will immediately follow. In a moot court tournament, teams argue the hypothetical appeal of a lower court decision. In this year\u27s National Moot Court Tournament, the issue concerns the constitutionality of the federal wiretapping statute as it applies to media defendants and whether the civil damages provision of the statute confers discretionary power to district courts or whether the damages are mandatory in each case of a violation. #