UPDATE: The Ole Miss Law team won the moot court competition against the Mississippi College Law School team. The students were judged by a panel including Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
Exceptional winning moot court performance from @OleMissLaw students last night — in front of @USSupremeCourt Chief Justice Roberts! https://t.co/mFtKAVvbxM
— Jeff Vitter (@UMchancellor) September 28, 2017
Today, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. will lead a panel of judges overseeing courtroom competition at the Mississippi Supreme Court between students at two Mississippi law schools.
The Moot Court competition matches students at Mississippi College Law School against their counterparts at the University of Mississippi Law School.
His Jackson visit coincides with the Bicentennial of the Mississippi Judiciary.
“Everyone at MC Law, students, faculty, and staff are honored that Chief Justice Roberts will preside at the moot court competition,” said Matt Steffey Law professor at Mississippi College. “It’s rare and an extraordinary opportunity and challenge for law students to be put through the paces by the nation’s highest judicial officer.”
Roberts will be assisted by a panel of distinguished judges that Wednesday afternoon in the state’s capital city.
The panel will include Chief Judge Carl E. Stewart of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller, Jr., Mississippi Court of Appeals Chief Judge L. Joseph Lee, and Chief Judge Sharion Aycock of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. Chief Judge Louis Guirola Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi will join the group just a few blocks from the MC Law School.
Chief Justice Roberts, 62, has served as head of the nation’s judicial branch since September 29, 2005. He was nominated by President George W. Bush. The Buffalo, New York native received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1976 and J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1979. He was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2003.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for the students, and most lawyers never get the chance to appear before the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Steffey. “It is something the legal community will long remember.”
During his visit, Roberts will swear in appellate court staff attorneys and law clerks to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Roberts also plans to attend an evening banquet at the Hilton Hotel in Ridgeland at 7:00 p.m. hosted by the Bicentennial of Mississippi’s Judiciary and Legal Profession Committee.
The Moot Court competition will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the En Banc Courtroom of the Supreme Court at 450 High Street in Jackson. The event is open to the public.
