University of Arkansas Law Students Finish Fifth at National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition

Fayetteville, Ark. - Ramey McCracken and John Russo of the University of Arkansas School of Law finished fifth recently in the National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition held Oct.14-16, 2004, in San Diego.

With their fifth-place finish, McCracken, a third-year law student from Mountain Home, Ark., and Russo, a third-year student from Gainesville, Mo., missed advancing to the semifinal round of the competition by one place. They advanced to the quarterfinals after arguing against teams from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and Pepperdine University in the preliminary rounds. In the quarterfinals, they argued against the event's eventual champion, Baylor University, and the University of Alabama.

On top of finishing fifth overall in the 32-team field, McCracken and Russo also placed eighth in the best brief category of the event.

The UA team was coached by Professor Kim Coats, assistant clinical professor in the school's legal research and writing program. Site assistance was provided by law school faculty members Don Judges, Steve Sheppard, Mike Mullane, Kathryn Sampson, Lindlee Baker, Tim Tarvin and Stanley Adelman.