If you are an attorney attending the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Convention in Chicago this year, we request that you volunteer to serve as a judge in the preliminary and/or quarterfinal rounds of the 2018 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition (Competition). The Competition is an appellate advocacy competition sponsored annually by the NAPABA Law Foundation, an IRC § 501( c )(3) non-profit, charitable and educational affiliate of NAPABA. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Competition! The Competition honors the late Judge Thomas Tang, a champion of individual rights, an advocate for the advancement of minority attorneys, and an ardent supporter of NAPABA. Judge Tang served on the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1977 until his passing in 1995. To learn more about the competition, click here.
This year’s problem addresses the following issues:
- Whether a state university may impose disciplinary sanctions on a student for non-curricular expressive conduct otherwise protected by the First Amendment in order to protect the expressive rights of other.
- Whether a state university may expel a law student based on university officials’ determination that her off-campus expressive activity, otherwise protected by the First Amendment, violates the professionalism standards governing attorneys.
The information for the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds is as follows:
Date: Friday, November 9, 2018
Time: Preliminary Round One (9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.), Preliminary Round Two (11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.), and Quarterfinal Round (2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Place: Sheraton Grand Chicago (301 E. North Water St., Chicago, IL 60611)
Please register online at https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/dicpm to judge one or both of the preliminary rounds and/or the quarterfinal round. Although the sign-up sheet is getting full, please consider signing up to be an alternate in the event someone needs to make a last minute cancellation. Once you register, you will be emailed the problem, the bench brief, the rules and the oral argument scoring sheets. Please report to the Tennessee meeting room located on the second level at least 20 minutes before your scheduled round to obtain your room assignment. We ask that alternates also report to the Tennessee meeting room 20 minutes before your scheduled room to determine if your services are needed for the Competition.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Linda Tran ([email protected]) or Leah Gould ([email protected]).