FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The prize round of the Ben J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, March 11, in the School of Law E.J. Ball Courtroom.

The competition allows second-year students to hone their appellate writing and oral advocacy skills. Students who excel in this competition have the opportunity to represent the University of Arkansas the following year in external moot court competitions.     

The oral arguments will take about an hour, followed by deliberations by guest judges. Judges for the prize round include the Honorable Timothy Brooks, United States District Judge, Western District of Arkansas; the Honorable Daniel Crabtree, United States District Judge, District of Kansas; and the Honorable Kenneth Hixson, Arkansas Court of Appeals.

The question for this year's competition revolves around voter identification law. The basic facts are that the State has enacted a new statute, taking effect just weeks before the election, requiring photo identification to vote. The plaintiff is a homeless veteran who cannot obtain a photo identification before the election. The issues are:

1. Whether an action to permanently enjoin implementation of a voter identification statute is ripe for judicial consideration although the allegedly injurious statute has yet to take effect.
2. Whether a state statute requiring all voters, other than a narrow category of religious objectors, to present valid photo identification violates a voter's right to vote under the first and 14th amendments of the United States Constitution.

The legal and campus communities are invited to join the School of Law for this battle of wits and reasoning organized by the Ben J. Altheimer Professor of Legal Advocacy, Carl Circo, and the School of Law Board of Advocates.