News Releases
Supreme Court Justice Scalia to judge Swygert Moot Court competition
Thursday, August 2, 2007
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will serve on the panel of the Luther M. Swygert Memorial Moot Court Competition, to be held October 18 at Valparaiso University School of Law.
Appointed in 1986, Justice Antonin Scalia is the second most senior Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He is a prominent conservative and originalist, a proponent of “textualism” in statutory interpretation and original meaning in constitutional interpretation.
The competition involves an annual intra-school moot court competition to be held at the School of Law, hosted by the Moot Court Society. All moot court members, with the exception of the Executive Board, participate by writing a brief and arguing on a topic selected by the Associate Justice of the Swygert Competition.
The Executive Board judges two preliminary rounds and the quarterfinals and three School of Law professors judge the semifinal round. The final round features jurists from courts throughout the country, with a judge from the U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit selected to act as Chief Justice. Past judges have included Hon. Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court; the Hon. Frank Easterbrook, Hon. Diane Wood, Hon. Richard Cudahy and Hon. Diane Sykes, all of the Seventh Circuit; current and former justices of the Indiana Supreme Court; and other notable jurists from across the country.
Prizes are awarded for the Best Team, Best Brief and Best Oralist.
The Judge Luther M. Swygert Memorial Moot Court Competition was created at Valparaiso University School of Law in 1989 in honor of the late Judge Swygert. His wife, Mrs. Gertrude Swygert and their son, Professor Michael I. Swygert, established the endowment at Valparaiso for the creation of the annual competition to celebrate Judge Swygert’s memory and special relationship with the school.
Judge Swygert had a special interest in legal education, particularly in moot court programs, throughout his legal career. He acted as a judge for moot court competitions at Valparaiso, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Indiana University, New York University, Wisconsin, Illinois, DePaul, Northwestern, Chicago and Yale law schools. In light of Judge Swygert’s special interest, the Judge Luther M. Swygert Memorial Moot Court Competition was created at Valparaiso in 1989.
Judge Swygert graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 1927 and was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Judge Swygert to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in 1932. Judge Swygert served as the Chief District Judge until 1961, when President John F. Kennedy nominated him to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He sat on the Seventh Circuit until 1987, was the Chief Circuit judge from 1970-1975 and became a Senior Circuit judge in July of 1981. Judge Swygert continued to hear appeals until 1987.
Judge Swygert was awarded an honorary doctor of law degree from Valparaiso University during the dedication ceremony of Wesemann Hall, in 1963. Judge Swygert was the first ever jurist in residence at the School of Law and taught an innovative seminar, “Language and the Law.” His son, Michael Swygert, graduated from the School of Law in 1967, ranking first in his class. Michael Swygert was the Editor-in-Chief of the inaugural issue of the Valparaiso University Law Review, received his L.L.M. from Yale Law School in 1968 and is currently a professor at Stetson University College of Law.
The Valparaiso University Moot Court Honor Society is the Law School’s premier interscholastic organization. Society members develop both oral and written advocacy skills through drafting mock appellate briefs and conducting oral arguments all over the nation on topics ranging from constitutional to environmental law.
The Society is composed of second and third year law students.
Special thanks to Professors Ed Gaffney and Clare Nuechterlein of the Valparaiso University School of Law for their work to bring about Justice Scalia's visit.
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