The community is invited to attend the 23rd Annual Virgin Islands High School Appellate Moot Court Competition, hosted by the Virgin Islands Bar Association scheduled for the following dates and times:
May 16: at 9 a.m., District Court of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix
May 17: at 9 a.m., Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas
May 18: at 10 a.m., Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas
The event is free of charge and open to the public. The following nine schools will participate in this year’s competition:
St. Croix
1) Good Hope Country Day School
2) St. Croix Educational Complex High School
3) St. Croix Seventh-day Adventist School
4) St. Joseph Catholic High School
St Thomas
- Antilles School
- Charlotte Amalie High School
- Ivanna Eudora Kean High School
- Thomas Seventh-day Adventist School
- Peter and Paul Catholic School
The competition provides an opportunity for high school juniors and seniors in the territory to vie for scholarship prizes by presenting oral arguments in which they analyze relevant legal issues in a mock appellate court proceeding. Members of the V.I. Bar Association mentor the students, advising the teams regarding the substance and presentation of their arguments. During the first two days of competition, each team will present their arguments to a three-judge panel comprised of local attorneys who will select the top two teams from each district. On the final day of competition, the selected teams will present their arguments before a three-judge panel comprised of justices and judges from the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands and the District Court of the Virgin Islands.
This year, the students have been presented with a challenging hypothetical case involving a legal action for an injunction to enjoin the Moot University of the Virgin Islands from enforcing its “free speech zone” regulation enacted prior to the commencement address of the Moot President of the United States Ronald J. Crump.
The petitioner asserts that the regulation that requires that students sign a non-violence agreement is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. The V.I. Bar Association is glad to carry on the tradition of the Appellate Moot Court Competition, recognizing and understanding the positive impact it has on the young people and the legal awareness it generates in the community.
For more information, contact Ernest Morris Esq. at 690-5373 or ernest.morris@aya.yale.edu
