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Law students present arguments to Supreme Court Justice Scalia
Monday, October 8, 2007
Valparaiso University School of Law students will present arguments to a panel of judges that will include United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia during an annual test of their legal skills. Justice Scalia is one of three federal judges presiding over the final round of Valparaiso’s 19th annual Luther M. Swygert Memorial Moot Court Competition, held Oct. 18 at Neils Science Center on campus.
Joining Justice Scalia are the Hon. Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, a Valparaiso graduate who serves on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the Hon. Daniel A. Manion, who serves on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
In this year’s competition, law students are addressing First Amendment issues relating to time, place and manner restrictions on protesters at the funerals of soldiers killed in war, as well as the power of a school to regulate the off-campus activities of a student involved in such a protest.
During the Swygert Competition, in which students address a contemporary constitutional issue, four preliminary rounds of judging are held prior to the final round, in which distinguished jurists serving courts throughout the country read the students’ briefs and hear their arguments. Prizes are awarded for the best team, best brief and best oralist.
Justice Scalia was appointed to the nation’s highest court in 1986 and has become known as a staunch originalist during his service on the bench. He previously has taught Valparaiso law students participating in a summer study program in England, as have fellow Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clarence Thomas and former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
The late Luther M. Swygert served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, chief district judge for the Northern District of Indiana and as chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Judge Swygert was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the VU School of Law in 1963. He was a jurist-in-residence and taught at the School of Law.
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