Judges Needed for the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition, NAPABA Convention 2014

JUDGES NEEDED
We need members of the bench and bar to serve as oral argument judges for the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds of the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition*, on Friday November 7th during the NAPABA Convention.  The preliminary rounds are from 9:15 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. and the quarterfinal round is from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  at the convention hotel, Westin Kierland Resort.  You can judge one or both rounds.  
 
If you can serve as a judge,  please sign up online (http://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/tzsao) or contact, Hemanth Digumarthi, Hemanth.digumarthi.uyfc@statefarm.com.
 
Time                    (1) Two Preliminary Rounds, Friday, November 7, 2014.   The preliminary rounds are from9:15 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. and the quarterfinal round is from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Material Provided:       Volunteer judges will be provided a bench brief that includes legal analysis of the issues and suggested questions to ask the student competitors.
Sign-Up Link:      If you can serve as a judge, sign up online (http://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/tzsao)
Legal Issues:
This year’s problem poses the following questions:
I.            Whether appropriate evidentiary standards were applied in finding Petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal under the Immigration and National Act.
          A.    Whether evidence beyond the record of conviction may be considered in determining removability under 8 U.S.C. §1227(a)(2)(A)(ii) for crimes involving moral turpitude.
        B.     Whether an inconclusive record of conviction is sufficient to meet a noncitizen’s burden of proving eligibility for cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. §1229b(b)(1).
II. Whether a conviction for using a false social security number with intent to deceive, but for otherwise lawful purposes, constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
  • Whether the holding of Jordan v. De George, 341 U.S. 223 (1951), declining to find the phrase “crimes involving moral turpitude” void for vagueness when applied to fraud, extends to conduct involving intent to deceive.
        B.    Whether a violation of 42 U.S.C. §408(a)(7)(B) for use of another person’s social security number constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude under 8 U.S.C. §1227(a)(2)(A)(ii).
 
Point of Contact:
Hemanth Digumarthi
Phone: 404-788-6398 (cell)
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*The Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition is an appellate advocacy competition sponsored annually by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Law Foundation (NAPABA Law Foundation), an IRC § 501©(3) non-profit, charitable and educational affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). The NAPABA Law Foundation works closely with the National Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (NAPALSA) and its local affiliates at law schools across the country. The purpose of this Competition is to develop advocacy skills without regard to the merit of the petitioner’s or respondent’s cases. 
 
The Competition was founded in 1993 and is named in honor of the late Honorable Thomas Tang, a respected jurist who was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1977. Judge Tang’s decisions during his more than eighteen years on the Ninth Circuit reflected his strong commitment to civil rights for all people. Judge Tang was known for his kindness and warmth, and the leadership role he played in the Asian Pacific American legal community. Prior to his passing in 1995, Judge Tang provided tremendous support to NAPABA and its activities, including the creation of this national moot court competition. 

2014 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition

2014 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition

St. John’s Law Team Achieves at Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition

St. John’s Law Team Achieves at Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition

Thomas Tang Moot Court Judges Needed for NAPABA Convention

We need your help to serve as judges for the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition on Friday, November 8, 2013, during the NAPABA Convention in Kansas City, MO.  The rounds will take place from 9:15 to 10:15 and 10:30 to 11:30 at the Convention Hotel, Kansas City Marriott Downtown.  

Please sign up to judge either one or both of the preliminary rounds via Wejoinin.   (http://wejoinin.com/sheets/usknvhttp://wejoinin.com/sheets/usknv).  

This year’s problem addresses the following issues:

I.  Whether § 66.04 of the Apalsa Revised Statutes (“ARS”) precluding a public defender from withdrawing on the basis of excessive workload or lack of resource violates the right to effective assistance of counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

 A.  Whether ARS § 66.04 is facially unconstitutional.     

 B.  Whether ARS § 66.04 is unconstitutional as applied in this case.

 II.  Whether the sanctions imposed on Appellant by the Professional Ethics Board of the State Bar of Apalsa violated her rights under the Constitution of the United States.

A.  Whether the sanctions imposed for refusing to comply with a court order to represent a criminal defendant violate the Fifth Amendment right to due process.

B.  Whether the sanctions imposed for Appellant’s public statement regarding her refusal to comply with a court order to represent a criminal defendant violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression.

Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition Deadline Coming Up Sept. 19

Law students: Gain valuable oral advocacy and brief writing skills while getting your shot to compete for scholarships totaling $10,000. Sign up now for the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition, organized by the NAPABA Foundation and NAPABA Judicial Council.

The Northeast Regionals are being held at Brooklyn Law School on October 5. Brief is due September 19. For more information, contact francis.chin@aabany.org.

For more details about the Thomas Tang Moot Competition, including entry forms and rules, go to http://bit.ly/tangmoot.

Judges Needed for Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition

Hemanth Digumarthi from the Host Committee of the 2011 NAPABA National Convention in Atlanta sends this message asking for AABANY members to volunteer time at the convention to serve as judges in the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition finals:

Judges are needed for the Thomas Tang Moot Court competition in Atlanta.  The rounds will take place, Friday, November 18 from 10:00 to 11:30 and from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  You can judge one or both rounds. If there are any AABANY members planning  to attend the  NAPABA convention and would like to volunteer, please contact Hemanth Digumarthi at shdigumarthi@gmail.com.

The issues in this year’s Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition are:

I. WHETHER THE PRESERVING AMERICAN VALUES IN EDUCATION (PAVE) ACT VIOLATES THE FIRST AMENDMENT’S GUARANTEE OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

A. Whether the deferential standard of review articulated in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988) for assessing high school curricula should be extended to universities.

B. Whether the PAVE Act’s curricular restrictions violate the free speech clause of First Amendment under either a strict scrutiny or a rational basis standard of review.

II. WHETHER THE PRESERVING AMERICAN VALUES IN EDUCATION (PAVE) ACT VIOLATES THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT’S GUARANTEE OF EQUAL PROTECTION.

A. Whether the PAVE Act’s curricular restrictions constitute a racial classification subject to strict scrutiny.

B. Whether the PAVE Act’s curricular restrictions violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment under either a strict scrutiny or a rational basis standard of review.