FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Juniors Nate Arrington and Hannah Hines successfully represented their client against sophomores Dalton Cook and Tristen Cross in the final round of the 2021 Ben J. Altheimer Mock Court Competition. The competition had place on February 11 through Zoom.
Hines was named best oralist in the competition and Arrington and Hines were recognized as best writer.
The students presented their cases before the Hon. Lavenski Smith (J.D. 87), Chief Justice of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals; the Hon. Kristine Gerhard Baker (J.D. '96) of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas; and the Hon. Jane L. Kelly, also of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
This year's case – John J. Schmidt v. United States – was about whether a law enforcement officer had conducted an unreasonable search of the apartment of an arrested person in violation of the Fourth Amendment. This was because the officer had slipped a key ring in front of several apartments until he found the apartment of the arrested person before obtaining a search warrant.
"All of the competitors represented our school very well to the judges and our community," said Ashley Spinazze, Co-Chair of the Ben J. Altheimer 2021 Mock Court Competition. "They showed the level of preparedness and professionalism of those who argue in court. of Appeals ".
Caleb Ward, co-chair of the 2021 Ben J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition, said they were especially impressed with the sophomore teams that participated. "Students often participate in oral arguments during the spring of their freshman year, however those arguments had been canceled due to the pandemic and sophomores entered the competition without having done so before."
The annual contest, named after Arkansas attorney and philanthropist Ben J. Altheimer, is organized by the University of Arkansas Law School Board of Attorneys. The student-led board organizes three internal competitions annually: the William H. Sutton Barrister Union Lawsuit Contest, the Altheimer Contest, and the Client Advocacy Contests, either a bargaining or client advisory contest, leading to selection of a mock court, a trial and a defense contest teams that travel to regional and national competitions.
About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas's flagship institution, U of A offers an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $ 2.2 billion to the Arkansas economy through teaching new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity. , while providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation ranks the U of A in the top 3% of US colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. US News & World Report ranks U of A among the best public universities in the country. See how the U of A works to build a better world in Arkansas Research News.
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