Ben J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition Final Round to be Held Friday

Kaiden Kazanjian, courtesy of John Selig via Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Benjamin Joseph Altheimer Sr. (1878-1946)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The prize round of the 2018 Ben J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition will take place at 2 p.m. Friday, March 9, in the E.J. Ball Courtroom at the University of Arkansas School of Law. Members of the public and the legal and campus communities are encouraged to attend.

A battle of wits and reasoning hosted by the University of Arkansas School of Law Board of Advocates, the competition allows law students to hone their appellate writing and oral advocacy skills. Competitors are drawn from both the second and third year law classes. Second year students who excel in the competition will have the opportunity to represent the law school in regional or national competitions and take on leadership roles in the Board of Advocates during their third year.

Presiding over the final round will be the Hon. Morris Arnold, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit; the Hon. Timothy Brooks, U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas; the Hon. Lisa White Hardwick, Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District; and the Hon. Brandon Harrison, Arkansas Court of Appeals, District 4.

This year's topic manages First Amendment issues raised by a homeless veteran who was arrested under an anti-panhandling statute and who has argued his Fourth Amendment right to privacy was violated when law enforcement conducted a warrantless search of his encampment. The issues on appeal are:

1. Whether a municipal ordinance that prohibits verbal solicitations of immediate donations in a limited geographical area unconstitutionally restricts the free speech of persons who beg or solicit in that area. 
2. Whether, under the Fourth Amendment, a homeless individual living in a public area has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her belongings.

The final round will feature two teams that emerge from weeks of competition beginning with a legal brief writing contest and ending with preliminary and knock-out oral argument rounds. 

The semi-finalists are Josie Graves and Jack Phillips; Jake Holmes and Ezra Smith; McKenzie Raub and Forrest Stobaugh; and Cameron Brewer and Nick Lovejoy. Two of these teams will emerge from a semi-final round before distinguished guests retired Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Paul Danielson, Arkansas Solicitor General Lee Rudofsky, University of Arkansas School of Law Dean Stacy Leeds, Ben J. Altheimer Professor of Legal Advocacy Carl Circo, attorneys James Estes and Lisa-Marie Norris and federal judicial clerks Kevin Eaton and Erika Esterbrook.

The competition is named in honor of Ben J. Altheimer, a successful attorney from Pine Bluff, where he practiced law before moving to Chicago in 1910 and starting one of the city's most prestigious law firms. He frequently returned to Arkansas, where he had acquired farmland near Altheimer. The town was named for his father and uncle, who donated land to the railroad for the creation of a depot. He established the Ben J. Altheimer Foundation before his death in 1946 to benefit 35 programs in Arkansas, including several within the University of Arkansas System. Altheimer was the single trustee of the foundation until his death, when five trustees designated by him assumed the responsibility for its continuation. It remained in existence for more than 50 years and was succeeded by the Ben J. Altheimer Charitable Foundation in 1995.

The 2018 Altheimer Competition co-chairs, 2017 champions Asia Cruz and Walker Hawkins, were supported by the 2017-18 Board of Advocates members and executive committee members Brittany Ford and Jessica Boykin. Kathryn Sampson, director of competitions and capstone courses, serves as faculty adviser, supported by Circo.