Virgin Islands Contact: Glenda L. Lake, Esquire Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands P.O. Box 70 St. Thomas, VI 00804 Tel: (340) 774-6680; Fax (340) 776-9889 E-mail: gllake@tcourt.gov.vi Virgin Islands Appellate High School Moot Court Competition Activity Summary: In November 1994, the Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Bar Association joined together to establish an annual appellate moot court competition for high school seniors in commemoration of Law Day. Three students from each high school team are provided with a hypothetical case, briefs, and recent court opinions on current constitutional issues. Two attorneys assist and serve as legal advisors to each team. The students present their oral arguments before a three-judge panel consisting of sitting judges, at a competition held at the Court during Law Week. The judges select the winners, who receive college scholarships. The event is broadcast live on a local radio station and over the Internet, and is videotaped by our public television station for viewing by the general public. Activity Narrative: Each year, high school seniors on all three U.S. Virgin Islands compete for college scholarships in the V. I. High School Appellate Moot Court Competition. The competition was established in November 1994, in commemoration of Law Day and is sponsored by the Territorial Court and the Virgin Islands Bar Association. Its goals are: To increase the community’s awareness of current issues in the law To promote the study of public speaking, advocacy and the law To improve the community’s awareness of the role of a lawyer and a judge To improve the public’s opinion of lawyers To provide financial assistance to deserving students who intend to further their education upon graduating from high school It also showcases the multifaceted talents of our students in the areas of public speaking, advocacy, and the law. The Court, through its coordinator, Judge Soraya Diase, selects a current constitutional issue and develops a hypothetical case surrounding that issue. It provides the students with all the study materials, including current case law, which are assembled in notebooks. Each participating high school selects three students for its team. Two attorneys who are members of the V. I. Bar Association are assigned to assist and advise each team. Judge Diase designates a team as either representing the appellant or the appellee, and the teams’ arguments are prepared accordingly. A two-day competition is held each year at the Territorial Court during Law Week, and it is open to the public. The first day begins with opening ceremonies, at which the Governor of the Virgin Islands, senators of the V. I. Legislature, and other dignitaries attend and speak. The actual competition begins that early afternoon. The students present oral arguments before a three-judge panel consisting of sitting judges. Each student on a team has five minutes to argue his/her portion of the argument. The judging criteria are oral advocacy; knowledge of the specific area of the law; organization of the argument; responses to the judges’ inquiries; creativity of the argument; and courtroom demeanor. Finalists are selected during the second day of the competition; a final round of competition is held; and the winners are selected and announced at a luncheon ceremony. A total of $9,000 in college scholarships is awarded each year: students on the first place appellant and appellee teams receive $1,000 each; and students on the second place team each receive $500. The winners also each receive an ABA Liberty Bell Award plaque and a Law Day medallion. The arguments are broadcast live throughout the Virgin Islands community and the Caribbean through a local radio station. They are also simultaneously on the Internet. This year, the V. I. Department of Education videotaped the entire competition for a later broadcast on the government’s television station. A public television station also videotaped the final day of the arguments for broadcast. Radio, television, and Internet coverage have enabled the entire Caribbean community and other communities throughout the world to be educated on the issues raised and argued. Since its inception, issues surrounding the constitutionality of the following have been addressed: the nocturnal curfew laws; prayer at a public school’s graduation ceremonies; school searches by hand-held metal detectors and via random urine tests; community service as a condition for graduation; and parental responsibility laws. All these issues highlight the ABA’s theme of Celebrate Your Freedom as our constitutional rights and the unique freedoms embodied therein are studied and argued. Significant publicity is undertaken surrounding each year’s issue and promoting the competition. Beginning in April, law clerks at the Court tape public service announcements for radio broadcast, and V. I. Radio stations assist us by playing the announcements regularly. Additionally, Judge Diase, an officer of the V. I. Bar Association, and a lawyer-advisor appears on a local television talk show, “Face to Face,” to discuss the competition. After the competition has concluded, Judge Diase and the students from the first place appellant and appellee teams appear on “Face to Face” to discuss the students’ experiences and their goals. We believe that the benefits of this competition are numerous and that the goals have been achieved. The lawyer-advisors donate a considerable amount of their time, energy, and talents to working with each of them. The Court distributes the study material in late January and each team, therefore, has four months to study and prepare. Because of the extensive amount of work involved for the students, at least one high school has made the competition a part of its curriculum. Also, after the 1996 competition, one of the team’s captains was so impressed with the competition that she enrolled in the Paralegal Institute on St. Croix and is now enjoying a career as a legal assistant. Many high school students have chosen law as a profession. The community’s awareness of our judicial system, current issues in the law, and our vital freedoms under the U.S. Constitution has increased. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization