Judge William Pryor, Jr., U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, spoke about his role as a federal judge on Tuesday, March 5 at the Law School.
Judge Pryor shared how his religious views guide his role as a circuit judge in a talk titled, “The Religious Faith and Judicial Duty of an American Catholic Judge.”
“Although my Catholic faith is the foundation of my worldview, my public duty is governed, from beginning to end, by the law,” he said. “Faith properly matters to a judge, and faith is not in tension with fidelity to the law.”
Judge Pryor emphasized that this religious foundation informs his understanding of his oath of office, his moral duties to obey lawful authority, and his responsibility to work both diligently and honestly.
Judge Pryor was joined by his four law clerks. The event was sponsored by the Saint Thomas More Society.
Drew Hertel (Vice President, 2L), Judge William Pryor (Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals), Jorge Solis (President, 3L), Ryan Dardard (Treasurer, 1L)
Kathryn Trent, Mallory Woodford, Nathan Richards, and Clayton Stansell, all 3Ls, turned in excellent performances recently at regional and national bankruptcy moot court competitions.
In the regional competition, the Cristol Kahn & Paskay Cup hosted by the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables, students turned in strong performances against other teams from Emory, Florida, Miami, and Ole Miss. The pairing of Trent and Richards advanced to the semifinals, where they were edged out by the overall winning team from the University of Miami.
At the national competition, the 27th Annual Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition in New York City, both Law School teams were designated top 16 teams among the 59 teams competing. To reach the octo-final rounds, students advanced from three preliminary rounds. During the preliminary rounds, Trent and Richards bested teams from the University of Chicago, Baylor, and Michigan State, while Woodford and Stansell advanced against teams from St. John’s, Memphis and Suffolk. During the octo-final rounds, each pairing turned in two more solid performances against teams from Miami and Baylor.
Woodford and Stansell advanced to the quarterfinal rounds, which were held in Brooklyn at the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York. Facing a panel that included a member of the Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, as well as Bankruptcy Judges from Texas and Indiana, Woodford and Stansell lost an extremely close round to the eventual overall winning team from SMU.
Trent was named Best Advocate of the competition. Woodford and Stansell received the Best Brief Award for the top brief submitted by any team.
Professor Gary Sullivan and Mark Williams (’84) coached the teams.
Cameron Rentschler, 3L, Jordan LaPorta, 2L, Carl Madden, 2L, and Karman Gaines, 2L, won first place in the Southeast regional of the American Association of Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition in Birmingham. The team was the number one seed after the three preliminary rounds and beat Cumberland in the semifinals and Emory in the final round to take first place. The team now advances to the national finals in Philadelphia on April 11-14, where they will face the winners of the 14 other regional competitions. Alabama’s second team of Ed Hines, 2L, Charles Stakely, 2L, Mark Williams, 3L, Stephanie Avant, 2L, and Reed Norris, 2L, also had a good showing, taking sixth place among the 18 teams competing. Both Alabama teams received outstanding coaching from Robert Prince (’74), Clay Hornsby (’88), and Grace Prince (’17).
Professor Joyce White Vance writes an op-ed in The Washington Post about Michael Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
For more, read “Yes, Michael Cohen’s a liar and a Criminal. So How Come You Believed Him?”
Two moot court teams from the School of Law recently competed in the regional rounds of the ABA National Appellate Advocation Competition in Philadelphia.
The team of Miriam Biffle, Nic Nivison, and Laura Stephenson, all 3Ls, won best brief in the region. They were the highest scored team in the preliminary rounds. They advanced to the regional finals but lost to Washington University.
The team of Jazmine Adams, Mary Lindsey Hannahan, and Brenton Smith, all 3Ls, advanced to the region semi-finals but lost to a Memphis team that advanced to nationals. Hannahan was honored as one of the best advocates in the region.
2L Moot Court Fellows – Lindsey Barber, Cory Church, and Ann Miles Golson – acted as bailiffs and helped manage and coach the teams. Professor Anita Kay Head helped coach at the competition.
Professor Pam Pierson appeared on Marketplace and discussed why no Wall Street CEOs went to jail after the financial crisis in 2008.
For more, listen to “You Asked, We Answered: Why Didn’t Any Wall Street CEOs Go to Jail after the Financial Crisis? It’s complicated.”
Alabama’s Culverhouse Law hosted 30 nonprofit and government employers at its sixth annual Public Interest Career Fair on Wednesday, February 27. About half of the participating organizations conducted interviews with law students who are seeking summer internships.
“This is a great opportunity for our students to meet practicing public interest lawyers and learn more about this area of law,” said Glory McLaughlin, Assistant Dean for Public Interest Law. “It’s also good for students to see a room full of people who have chosen this type of career. It sends the message that public interest law is a viable career option and that opportunities exist to seek a career serving the greater good.”
Participating employers included public defenders and prosecutors at both the state and federal level and several of Legal Services Alabama’s eight statewide offices. Nonprofit organizations, including the YWCA of Central Alabama, Southern Environmental Law Center, and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Center, attended the event.
The Public Interest Career Fair is sponsored by the Law School’s Public Interest Institute and the Career Services Office.
Drew Hertel, Mary Parrish Cobb, Emily Raines, and Noah Caldwell, all 2Ls, performed well at the 56th Annual Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County Mock Trial Tournament held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In the Law School’s second year participating in this tournament, the team was named best Plaintiff’s team in the competition. Hertel and Cobb received individual awards as the No. 1 and No. 2 best advocates in the tournament. Raines and Caldwell served as witnesses and helped the team advance to the final round against the competition’s best Defense team.
The competition problem is based on the record from an actual case. It includes real pleadings, discovery responses, deposition transcripts, and medical records. The team members examined and cross-examined medical doctors who played the roles of a treating physician and a defense expert. Participants tried the case before a mock jury of high school students, and a federal judge presided over the case.
While the team won the jury verdict in the final round, it was edged out in the scoring.
Professor Yuri Linetsky coached the team, while Ben Edwards, 3L, served as student coach.
Alabama’s Culverhouse Law celebrated the careers of four professors on Monday.
One by one, Dean Mark E. Brandon unveiled the portraits of Professors William Andreen, James Bryce, Martha Morgan, and Pamela Pierson. The occasion, held in the Bounds Law Library, honored professors who have taught at least 25 years at the Law School.
The portraits, which will be displayed around the Law School, have captured some of the personality or values of their subjects, said Brandon. Portraits, he said, also serve as historical markers of the institution.
“As a bridge between the present and the past, each portrait helps to promote memory for the institution,” he said. “Long after the persons captured in a portrait retire from the scene, the portrait remains as a reminder of who the person was, a reminder also that this person mattered, left a mark, helped to make the institution what it is.”
Faculty, staff, and students congratulated the professors after the unveiling.
Joseph Latham and Sydney Schaefer
Sydney Schaefer, Joseph Latham, and Abby Fox, all 3Ls, recently competed in the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition held in New York.
Schaefer and Latham, the oralists for the Law School’s team, faced teams from Georgetown, U.C. Davis, Tulane, Florida, Baylor, Tennessee, West Virginia, Roger Williams, and Appalachian State as they progressed through three preliminary rounds, the quarter-final round, and the semi-finals. Schaefer received two Best Oralist Awards during the preliminary rounds. During the competition, Schaefer and Latham had to argue at least once for each of the three parties to the appeal.
In the final round, they argued in front of Judge John Bush, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Judge Dennis Jacobs, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; Judge Kermit Lipez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; and Judge Mal Mannion, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Professors William Andreen and Heather Elliott coached the team. AnnaCarrol Jones, 2L, served as a student coach.
