This weekend 18 University of Tampa students will take their knowledge and love of law and put it to practice.
Students will argue in mock court cases Nov. 13 and 14 as UT hosts the Southeastern Regional Moot Court Tournament.
In addition to the 18 UT students participating in the event, 32 students from other universities will come to participate.
The preliminary, quarter and semi-final rounds of the tournament will be held in Plant Hall Nov. 13 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The final round will be held at Stetson University College of Law in downtown Tampa at 2:30 p.m.
Students will be doing simulated appellate arguments. These arguments are the arguments that take place after a trial, when the side that lost appeals and argues what went wrong in the case.
Students will argue the fourth and eighth amendments.
The fourth amendment concerns search and seizure, which provides protection to citizens against unwarranted search and seizure from the government.
The eighth amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment.
According to Alisa Smith, associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the students will argue in teams of two, one team on the fourth amendment and the other the eighth.
One team will be arguing for the sides of petitions. “Who in this case is the state,” Smith said. The other team argues the defended.
The petition goes first and argues that the state did not violate the amendments.
The other side argues that they did. They will also be asked questions from the panel of judges.
“They will argue in three rounds back to back,” Smith said. “This is really rigorous.”
In the next round, students will switch sides.
In the following round, Smith randomly decides which side they will argue. The students will argue in front of a judge panel.
The judges review them on four things: knowledge of the subject matter, response to judges’ questions, forensic skills and courtroom demeanor.
There are 400 points possible, 100 for each category. The top 16 teams will go on to Saturday’s quarter final round.
There will be three rounds again but in the first round it will be narrowed down to eight teams, the second to four teams and then the last round to two teams.
The two teams will argue in the finals at Stetson University at 2:30 p.m.
“The top 16 teams will [get] a plaque,” Smith said. Each team will get a plaque with their place on it.
The American Collegiate Moot Course Association is sponsoring the event and they make up the case.
This case is used in the regional tournaments and in the national tournament to be held in Jan. 2010 at Florida International University College of Law.
The winners will be announced between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday.
that was fucked up because were black is thst why they did that