UB Law's 2011 Desmond Moot Court Competition Attracts a Distinguished Panel of Judges

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A distinguished panel of judges is slated to sit on the bench for the final round of the 2011 Charles S. Desmond Moot Court Competition, the most prestigious appellate advocacy competition at the University at Buffalo Law School.

This year, the final round judges will include Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr., associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals; Hon. Erin M. Peradotto, associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department; and Hon. Jeremiah J. McCarthy, magistrate judge of the Western District of New York.

For more than 30 years, the Desmond competition has given UB law students the opportunity to brief and argue an appeal on timely and consequential questions, usually involving constitutional issues presented in cases pending before the United States Supreme Court. The week-long intramural competition, scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 24, attracts more than 50 second- and third-year UB Law students annually.

All rounds will be argued in John Lord O'Brian Hall on the North Campus. Preliminary, quarter and semi-final rounds are scheduled from Monday, Oct. 24 through Thursday, Oct.27, and will begin each evening at 6 p.m.

The final round for the Desmond Competition will take place at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28, in the Francis M. Letro Moot Courtroom on the first floor of O'Brian Hall.

Competitors will argue two Constitutional issues. The first deals with whether the First Amendment bars public school officials from imposing discipline on students for posting false and offensive messages concerning developments at school on the Internet from a home computer during non-school hours.

The second issue addresses whether defense counsel's negligent error in advising a defendant to decline the substantial benefits of a pre-trial plea offer deprived the defendant of her Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel when the defendant was later convicted of the original, more serious charges following a fair trial.

A banquet for competitors and board members will be held on Friday evening following the final round of competition at the Buffalo Marriott Niagara Hotel, Flint Road, Amherst, from 8-10:30 p.m. At that time, participants will receive awards and the winning team will be announced.

Over the years, hundreds of local lawyers and judges have volunteered their time to judge the competitors. This year, two high-profile Buffalo-area appellate litigators, Kevin J. English from Phillips Lytle LLP and Lawrence J. Vilardo from Connors & Vilardo LLP, conducted workshops for the Desmond competitors, providing tips and advice on how to write effective appellate briefs and make winning oral arguments.

"We are lucky to have such great practitioners from Western New York give their time and expertise to the students for Desmond," says Jeanna Cellino, spokesperson for the Moot Court Board.

For more information, contact Cellino at 597-5994