UPDATE: Congratulations to the 2020 winners, the students from the University of Georgia School of Law! Watch the Facebook Live recording of the event here.
The 40th Annual Florida-Georgia/Hulsey-Gambrell Moot Court Competition will take place on Friday, October 30th at 9:30 a.m. However, the event will look a bit different this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The competition between students from the University of Florida College of Law and the University of Georgia School of Law is typically held on the eve of the Florida-Georgia football game and has become a tradition in the Jacksonville legal community.
Two law students from each school will compete in a mock appellate case replicating current but unresolved issues before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The appeal for this year’s competition concerns (1) whether a non-citizen’s due process rights are violated during an immigration proceeding in which the immigration judge fails to inform the non-citizen of the available remedies and (2) whether a state conviction for endangerment of a child constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude.
This year, the students will compete virtually, presenting their arguments via Zoom video conference before a panel of Federal judges. The victors in the case earn the championship trophy to keep at their law school for the year. The tournament record stands at 24 wins for Georgia, 11 wins for Florida and two ties.
Law firms Smith Hulsey & Busey and Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP sponsor the event in honor of the late Mark Hulsey, a partner with Smith Hulsey & Busey, and the late E. Smythe Gambrell, a founding partner of Smith Gambrell. Gambrell was president of the American Bar Association and the American Bar Foundation. Hulsey served as president of The Florida Bar and the Jacksonville Bar Association.
The participating judges in this year’s competition are:
- The Honorable Stan Baker, District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia
- The Honorable Brian Jordan Davis, District Judge for the Middle District of Florida
- The Honorable Marcia Morales Howard, District Judge for the Middle District of Florida
- The Honorable Lisa Godbey Wood, District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia
- The Honorable Charles R. Wilson, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
The competition will be live-streamed on the Smith Hulsey & Busey YouTube channel and via Facebook Live .
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