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FDMCC Rules 2012-2013
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! "!
Official Rules of the 2012-13 National Frederick Douglass Moot Court
Competition
“Living the Dream: Developing Excellence in Advocacy and Fostering Progress in Society”
Sponsored by:
Cara B. Sherman, National Director of FDMCC
Faith Hudson, National Specialist
Charles Tucker Jr., Esq. National Advisor
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Table of Contents Article I: Purpose..................................................3 Article II: General Administration...................................3 Article III: Participation............................................3 Article IV: Assistance...............................................4 Article V: Eligibility and Registration.............................4 Article VI: Briefs...................................................7 Article VII: Oral Arguments..........................................10 Article VIII: Regional Competition....................................13 Article IX: National Finals.........................................15 Article X: Bailiffs................................................16 Article XI: Grievances..............................................16 Article XII: Awards..................................................17
Article XIII: Conduct.................................................18 Article XIV: Authority...............................................18 Article XV: Contact Information.....................................19
Application...........................................................20
Proof of Service......................................................21
Certificate of Compliance.............................................22
The National Director of the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition (“FDMCC”) reserves the right to amend these rules and any decision, which shall be final, regarding any aspect of the FDMCC. These rules replace all previous versions. The FDMCC problem, prepared by the National Director and Advisory Committee of the FDMCC, is copyrighted material. No school may use the FDMCC problem, except in connection with the school’s participation in the 2012-13 competition, without express written consent of the National Director and Advisory Committee. This prohibition does not preclude a school from using the FDMCC record in an intramural competition to select a team for FDMCC.
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Article I: Purpose
The Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition was created to provide NBLSA
members with an opportunity to enhance their brief writing and advocacy
skills. NBLSA is dedicated to providing minority law students with the
skills necessary to succeed in the legal profession. The Frederick
Douglass Moot Court Competition is a significant aspect of NBLSA
programming which seeks to provide minority law students who are NBLSA
members with the opportunity to hone their appellate advocacy skills in
an atmosphere of zealous competition and spirited camaraderie.
Expectation
1. All competitors and coaches are expected to conduct themselves
with the highest level of professionalism and respect for the
competition and the organization that administers it. 2. All competitors are expected to give the utmost deference to the judges of the competition as if they were arguing in the Supreme Court of the United States.
3. All competitors and coaches should expect to participate in a competition based on the principles of excellence which form the basis of NBLSA.
4. All competitors and coaches should expect to be afforded an equal
level of respect and professionalism from the directors of this
competition. Article II: General Administration
In accordance with the NBLSA Constitution, the FDMCC is administered at
the direction of the National Director and generally, under the
supervision of the National Specialist(s). National leadership works
directly with each Regional Director and Regional Specialist to
coordinate all aspects of the competition. Article III: Participation 1. The FDMCC requires active NBLSA membership. Each team participant must be a full-time or part-time student in a Juris Doctor or LLM program during the competition year. Additionally, each team participant must have been a dues paying NBLSA member prior to the year they are competing. (E.g. – If competing during the 2012- 2013 academic year, the participant must have been a dues paying member, who participated at least one BLSA community service project during the 2011-2012 academic year)
2. Each team member must be in good academic standing as verified by the school’s Dean.
3. National and Regional board members are precluded from participating
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in the FDMCC during the year in which they hold their board position. Board members who resign from their position within the year of the competition are still prohibited from participating in the FDMCC.
4. Each team must consist of two (2) law students attending the same law school. Both team members must participate in writing the team’s brief and must argue in each round throughout the competition.
5. No team member may be used for the sole purpose of writing the brief. Article IV: Assistance
1. Each member of a two-person team is prohibited from receiving any
substantive brief-writing assistance from any individual who is not
a member of that two-person team. Failure to adhere to this
rule shall result in immediate disqualification. This rule shall not be construed to prohibit critiquing oral arguments through mock oral argument sessions.
a. “Substantive”: includes but is not limited to issue-
spotting, argument structure, organizational structure,
research, discussion with any other FDMCC team (regardless
of the school).
b. Coaches may give GENERAL training on: 1) how to write a brief
2) how to research, and 3) crafting oral-arguments.
c. Coaches MAY NOT write any portion of the brief or write any
portion of any script that may be used during a team’s oral argument.
2. Professional and outside brief writers are strictly prohibited.
Failure to adhere to this rule will result in automatic
disqualification.
3. If a competitor requires assistance during oral argument rounds
as the result of a disability, the competitor shall inform the
National or Regional Director no less than 21 days prior to
commencement of the competition via email at
Article V: Eligibility and Registration
1. FDMCC participants must meet all of the following eligibility
requirements. Each team member must:
a. Be a dues-paying NBLSA member in accordance with National and
Regional membership requirements;
b. Register for the conference (Regional or National) hosting
the FDMCC it participates in (Please note that this cost is
in addition to the standard FDMCC Registration fee);
c. Be in good academic standing and provide a written letter of
good academic standing from their law school’s dean or
! &!
registrar on official letterhead;
d. Submit a letter of good standing from their BLSA chapter
president or secretary indicating that he/she:
i. is a dues-paying member of his/her BLSA chapter,
ii. has participated or will be participating in at least
one chapter community service activity, and
iii. has been a NBLSA member in good financial standing for at least one academic year prior to entering the
competition. NOTE: One-Year Requirement: Competitors are required to be a member of their local BLSA chapter for one-year prior to representing their school’s Frederick Douglass Moot Court team, however first year, transfer students and other students, for ‘good cause shown’ may seek a waiver of the one year participation requirement rule. In addition, the National Director is the only entity that may grant a waiver of this kind, and granting this waiver will happen only on a case-by-case basis. Further, having been granted a waiver in previous years will NOT carry over to any subsequent year. To apply for a waiver, prospective competitors must:
! Send the completed Request for Waiver Form1
via email directly to the National Director 2
weeks prior to submitting registration
materials to [email protected] and:
o Attach the Request for Waiver Form to the letter of good standing
o The National Director will notify the team within 5 business days that the
waiver has been approved or denied
o The decision of the National Director is final
2. TEAM REGISTRATION: Each team must submit:
a. a registration form,
b. letter of good academic standing,
c. letter of good standing from their BLSA Chapter President
(with attached waiver form, if necessary),
d. and the $350.00 registration fee by October 31, 2012.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"!The Request for Waiver Form can be found on the FDMCC Course on the TWEN website.!
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3. DISCOUNTS: Teams which submit their registration form by October
1, 2012 can pay a registration fee of $300.00. Schools which
enter more than one team in the competition can pay a
registration fee of $300.00 per team if the registration form is
submitted prior to October 15, 2012.IF APPLICABLE, ONLY ONE
DISCOUNT WILL BE APPLIED PER TEAM. 4. Entries submitted after October 15, 2012 will be accepted with
the regular registration fee of $350.00. Registration forms will
not be accepted after October 31, 2012.
5. A copy of the registration form AND checks for registration
MUST be mailed to:
National Black Law Students Association
Attn: Frederick Douglass Competition
1225 11th Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001-4217 6. Refunds will be granted only due to extenuating circumstances,
and are subject to the discretion of the National Director. No
refunds will be granted after October 31, 2012.
7. No team member may be substituted after November 1, 2012. a. Notification of a substitution must be submitted to the National Director of Moot Court via email at [email protected].
8. Teams that advance to the National Rounds of the competition must
confirm their participation by registering for the National
Convention no less than twenty-one (21) calendar days prior to
the beginning of the National Convention. Any team that does not
register within this timeframe will be deemed to have withdrawn
from the competition and will forfeit their slot to another team
within their region.
9. Each team will be randomly assigned a letter by the National
Director of FDMCC prior to the scoring of the briefs. Team
members will be allowed to refer to themselves by name or ID
letter only. Any team member that identifies or causes to be
identified, any school, social, religious or other information
that could jeopardize the fairness of the competition, through
the use of apparel, jewelry, hand gestures, or material brought
into the courtroom, shall subject the team to immediate
disqualification and fee forfeiture.
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Article VI: Briefs
1. Format:
The rules of the U.S. Supreme Court for brief submissions are
adopted in full, subject to the following:
a. Any time Attorney Identification is required within the
Supreme Court rules, the team identification letter(s) shall
be substituted for that identification. b. Cover Page – Petitioner’s brief must be printed on light blue paper. Respondent’s brief must be printed on red paper.
c. A team may choose to write its brief on behalf of either side. If more than one team from the same school enter the competition, fifty percent (50%) of the total number of briefs submitted must be for petitioner and the other fifty percent (50%) must be for respondent. If there are an odd number of teams, the remaining brief may be written on
behalf of either side.
d. Briefs must be submitted with an opaque front cover of durable
quality. The following must be located at the upper
right-hand corner of the cover “Team Letter
Identification .” Information identifying the team or
its law school, other than its designation supplied by the
National Director, MAY NOT be included anywhere on the
brief.
e. All citations should conform to the most recent edition of
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. Footnotes are
prohibited.
f. Typeface must be Courier New, twelve-point font only. The
brief must be formatted in Microsoft Word. Pages shall be
standard letter size (8 x 11 inches) with one-inch margins
on each side (excluding page numbers), and with double
spacing (except for point or sub-point headings, block
quotations, etc.) between each line of text. Pages must be
single-sided only. The brief must not exceed thirty pages,
not including the cover page, table of contents, table of
authorities, and appendix.
g. Briefs shall be “spiral” or “book” bound at the left
margin.
11. Scoring:
Each brief will be graded by three separate brief graders
selected by the National and Regional Directors. The final score
will be the average of those three scores. Brief graders may not
participate in practice rounds or otherwise discuss the problem
! )!
with participants or their coaches.
12. Briefs will be graded on a 50-point scale. Scores will be based
on the following criteria:
FORMAT/APPEARANCE
• All sections included and prepared in accordance with Article 6, Section 1.
• Neat and professional, in compliance with form requirements.
SUBSTANCE
• Issue Recognition o Issues properly identified o Issues thoroughly addressed
• Argument o Questions Presented stated in a persuasive manner o Point headings stated in a persuasive manner o Point headings develop the legal argument o Facts are accurate and persuasively written o Properly emphasizes favorable facts o Effectively addresses unfavorable facts o Avoids conclusive statements
• Legal Authority o Properly identifies relevant precedent o Properly summarizes precedent o Effectively emphasizes favorable precedent o Effectively distinguishes unfavorable precedent o Proper analysis and synthesis of facts with precedent
MECHANICS
o Proper grammar o Proper paragraph development o Proper citation format (Bluebook) o Proper use of quotations o Spelling
13. Service of Briefs
a. It is each team members’ responsibility to ensure every
copy of the team brief contains the proper ID letters. Team
ID letters will be mailed to each team no later than Monday,
November 5, 2012. If a team does not receive a team ID, it is
the team’s responsibility to inform the National Director immediately.
! *!
b. Service on the National Director:
i. Three (3) bound copies of each team’s brief must be postmarked no later than, Thursday, November 15,
2012 to the National Director to avoid point
deductions/penalties.
Cara Sherman
NBLSA FDMCC Director
P.O. Box 1109
State College, PA 16804
ii. An electronic version of the brief must be uploaded
to The West Education Network (TWEN)at
www.lawschool.westlaw.com under the “National
Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition”course.
This upload must be completed by 11:59pm (EST) on
Thursday, November 15, 2012 to avoid point
deductions/penalties (see chart).
iii. The electronic version must be in PDF format. All
components of the brief must be sent together as a
single document labeled “Team Brief.”
iv. To facilitate access to all participating teams,
each team’s brief will be posted on TWEN under the“National Frederick Douglass Moot Court
Competition”course. Briefs will be posted by Team
Identification letter in the same format it was
submitted to the National Director.
v. The Certificate of Compliance and Proof of Service
MUST be included with each team’s brief submission. vi. No brief will be accepted after the postmark date of
Thursday, November 22, 2012.
vii. Briefs may be submitted via United States Postal
Service, UPS, FedEx, etc. It is recommended, however,
that teams obtain a Delivery Confirmation receipt to
ensure delivery of briefs.
viii. A postmarked Certificate of Mailing from the United
States Postal Service or a postmark affixed by the
carrier service you use is the only accepted
verification of the mailing date. Evidence of
delivery date by private postage meters will not be
acceptable verification of the postmarked date.
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ix. If a team fails to serve its brief in the manner
prescribed, the date of service will be the date the
brief is received.
x. Briefs may not be amended or revised once submitted.
14. Deductions and Penalties
Violation Deduction / Penalty Late filing (postmarked after
initial filing deadline) 10 points
Exceed page limit 5 points per page Failure to upload brief to FDMCC
TWEN course. 7 points
Brief not submitted as one file on
FDMCC TWEN course. 7 points
Failure to include Proof of Service
Form 10 points
Failure to include Certificate of
Compliance Form 10 points
Identification of team other than
by assigned team letter Disqualification
Brief postmarked after late filing
Deadline Disqualification
Multiple briefs from the same school
not properly divided between
Petitioner & Respondent
10 point deduction from each team
Article VII: Oral Arguments
1. General
a. The Regional Director will assign sides for the preliminary
rounds of the regional competition. The National Director
will assign sides for the preliminary rounds of the national
competition.
b. In subsequent rounds, a coin toss will determine which side a
team will argue.
c. Competitors must be at the designated assembly room at least
thirty minutes before their respective rounds are scheduled
to begin. The bailiff will record Petitioner’s rebuttal
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time and each competitor’s time for oral argument. d. If a team arrives at an argument late, one point will be
deducted from the team’s final oral score for each minute late. After 15 minutes a default will be declared.
e. Each team is allotted 40 minutes total for oral argument.
The team may divide speaking time between participants as
they choose, so long as each participant argues at least 10
minutes but not more than 25 minutes. When speaking time
has expired, a participant may request the Court’s permission to continue. Competition Judges have sole
discretion to extend a speaker’s time. i. Failure to speak for at least 10 minutes during oral
arguments will result in a 5 point deduction from the
overall team score.
ii. Failure to request an extension of time after allotted
time has expired will result in a 5 point deduction
from the overall team score.
f. Petitioner may reserve up to 2 minutes for rebuttal by
notifying the bailiff and Chief Justice of the Court before
commencement of the Petitioner’s argument. Failure to
reserve rebuttal time with the Court or bailiff will
constitute a waiver of rebuttal time. Respondent does not
receive rebuttal time during oral argument. g. Counselors must identify themselves to the Court by ID letter only and state which side they represent (Petitioner or Respondent) at the beginning of each argument.
h. No discussion with the judges is permitted until conclusion of the round. The bailiff will announce when the judge may offer critiques in the presence of both teams.
i. No person affiliated with any team may attend any argument, in which that team is not scheduled to compete, until the final round. However, unaffiliated spectators may attend oral rounds at the discretion of the Regional or National Director.
j. Teams may not use audio or video recording devices during
court sessions. Cell phone use is strictly prohibited.
k. Note taking by persons other than team members is strictly
prohibited, including coaches and spectators. Notes taken
in violation of this rule will be confiscated by the
Regional or National Director and points will be deducted
from the affiliated team.
l. Any team having an affiliation with the bench, or recognizes
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an affiliation between its opposing team and the bench, must
notify the competition director before the court session
begins so that judges may be reassigned.
m. Props are not permitted in the courtroom.
2. Bye Rounds
a. There are no bye rounds in the FDMCC. b. In the event that an uneven number of teams exist, the competition director will provide a shadow team to argue in
the preliminary rounds. The identity of this team will not be
revealed to any competitor or judge in the competition.
c. A shadow team is an opposing team that is randomly selected to argue an additional round to allow all teams to argue a
minimum of three times during preliminary rounds. The shadow
team will be unaware of which round will be scored and which
is not.
3. Scoring
a. The National or Regional Director will select members of the
bench and/or members of the bar to judge oral argument
rounds. Advocates will be evaluated on a 50-point scale.
b. Advocates will be scored based on the following:
• Legal Issues/Argument Style o Use of and familiarity with facts o Knowledge and application of the law o Legal Argument
• Advocacy Style o Responsiveness to questions o Persuasiveness o Presentation and speaking ability o Courtroom etiquette
c. Weighting
i. Regional Level
1. During Preliminary Rounds, brief scores will count 30% of the total score and the oral
argument score will count as 70% of the
total score.
2. During Sweet Sixteen, Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final Rounds, the total score
will be solely based on the oral argument
score. A team’s brief score will count only in the event of a tie.
ii. National Level
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1. During all rounds, the oral argument score will
count as 100 % of the total score. A team’s brief score [comprised of the averaging of their
regional and national scores] will only count in
the event of a tie.
Article VIII: Regional Competition • Teams will be assigned a regional site in accordance with the NBLSA Constitution. The regional competitions will be held during the regional conventions. Each region’s executive board will determine that region’s conference location and dates.
• Preliminary Rounds a. The preliminary Rounds will be comprised of three competition
rounds. Each team will compete in each of the three
preliminary rounds.
b. At the end of the three Preliminary Rounds each team will
receive an overall Preliminary Rounds score.
c. Seventy percent of a team’s overall score will be comprised of an average oral argument score derived from the three preliminary
competition rounds. The remaining thirty percent of a team’s overall score will be composed of that team's brief score
(weighted at 30%). The two totals will be added to calculate a
team’s overall Preliminary Rounds score. d. The eight (or sixteen) teams receiving the highest overall Preliminary Rounds scores will advance to the Elimination Rounds of the Competition.
e. Pairings
i. The Regional Director of the FDMCC (at the Regional
Competition) and the National Director of the FDMCC
(at the National Competition) will determine
pairings for preliminary rounds. An effort will be
made not to pair teams from the same school.
ii. Each team will argue at least once for the
Petitioner and once for the Respondent during
preliminary rounds.
iii. At the end of the Preliminary rounds, teams will be
power seeded to determine advancement to the
elimination rounds. Teams will be seeded based on a
calculation of average oral argument scores combined
with the average brief score. (i.e. oral argument
weighted at 70% plus brief score weighted at 30% to
arrive at a preliminary round average)
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iv. Teams will be power matched (for the elimination
rounds) based on highest cumulative point averages
(i.e team with highest cumulative point average
will argue against team with lowest cumulative
point average.)
• Elimination Rounds: Elimination rounds will include quarterfinal, semifinal and final round court sessions.
a. Regions with less than 12 teams will not have a quarterfinal
round and will proceed from preliminary rounds to the
semifinals. If a region has exactly 12 teams, it is within the
sole discretion of the competition director to determine
whether there will be a quarterfinal round.
b. Regions with more than 30 teams may hold a Sweet Sixteen round.
Whether a Sweet Sixteen round will be held is within the
discretion of the competition director.
c. Eight (or Sixteen) teams will advance to the Elimination
Rounds. Teams will be seeded based on highest cumulative point
average.
d. After initial pairings, the 30% brief score will no longer be
factored into a team's score. Teams will be evaluated solely
upon their oral advocacy scores during the Elimination Rounds.
e. A coin toss shall determine which side each team will argue in
the elimination rounds.
f. Teams will advance to the next round based on won/loss record
only. Cumulative point averages will not be used to determine
advancement. A team must win their respective round to advance
to the next round. g. Upon advancement to the next elimination round, teams will be power matched based on oral advocacy scores obtained in the previous round. (i.e. in the semi-final round, the winning team with the highest oral argument score in the quarterfinal will argue against the winning team with the fourth highest oral argument score in the quarterfinal).
h. In the event that two opposing teams’ scores are tied, a
winner will be selected based on the teams brief score; the
team with the higher brief score will advance.
i. The top four teams from the quarterfinal rounds will advance to
the semifinal rounds. The top two teams from the semifinal
rounds will advance to the final round. The remaining two
teams will compete to determine which team will proceed to
the national competition in 3rd place.
! "&!
j. The winner of the final round will be declared winner of the
competition.
k. The top three seeded teams in each region will advance to the
National Competition. Article IX: National Finals
1. The FDMCC National Finals will be held in Atlanta, Georgia during
the National Convention.
2. Confirmation of Participation
a. Teams that advance to the national finals shall confirm
their participation with the National Director.
b. Confirmation of participation is demonstrated by (1)
registering for the NBLSA National Convention no later than
21 calendar days prior to commencement of the national finals
and (2) forwarding proof of such registration to the
National Director via email.
c. Failure to provide confirmation of participation 21 days
prior to the National Competition will be deemed a
withdrawal from the competition. A replacement
will be selected in accordance with these rules.
3. Preliminary Rounds
a. The top three seeded teams in each region shall be eligible
to compete in the national competition. Therefore, eighteen
teams will advance to the national preliminary rounds. If a
team is unable to compete in the national competition, the
next highest seeded team in their region will be able to go in its place.
b. The national preliminary rounds will be conducted in the same
manner as the regional preliminary rounds (see Article
VIII) with the exception that the oral argument will account
for 100% of the score and a team’s brief score will only be used in the event of a tie.
4. Elimination Rounds
a. Elimination rounds will include quarterfinal, semifinal and
final round court sessions.
b. Team’s scores will be based on oral argument presentations only.
c. The winning team from each round shall advance to the next
round and the winner of the final round will be declared the
winner and champion of the Frederick Douglas Moot Court
Competition.
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d. In the even that two opposing teams’ scores are tied, a
winner will be selected based on the teams’ brief scores:
the team with the higher score will advance.
Article X: Bailiffs
1. The competition director will provide a bailiff for each round.
2. Responsibilities
a. Escorting judges to and from the courtroom;
b. Distributing the ballots to judges before the round;
c. Calling the court to order;
d. Serving as time keeper;
e. Documenting tardy arrivals;
f. Collecting ballots and returning the ballots along with the
time sheet to the competition director;
g. Informing the competition director of any violations he/she
may have observed; and
h. Start the critiquing session. Article XI: Grievances and Brief Viewing Period
Grievances are limited to the following violations of the FDMCC rules:
inappropriate communication during the oral argument round between team
members, between team members and judges or team members and coaches;
inappropriate action of coaches during the oral argument rounds, and
inappropriate assistance from coaches during the brief writing process.
Each team will be provided with grievance forms at the start of their
first round of oral arguments.
Teams waive their right to file a grievance, based on anything that
occurred during an oral argument round, if they fail to do so before the
judges’ critiques are submitted to the National Director of FDMCC and/or the National FDMCC Specialist(s).
1. Briefs
a. Protests against another team’s brief must be served upon the National Director in writing within ten days from the
date the briefs are published on the official FDMCC TWEN
site.
b. Protests must specify the grievance lodged and rule the brief allegedly violates.
c. All teams will be notified via email of the National
! "(!
Director’s ruling on protests prior to the competition. d. Brief scores will be distributed during regional competition. Protests related to brief scores may be
brought to the attention of the competition director before
commencement of oral arguments.
2. Oral Arguments
a. Grievances pertaining to brief scores may not be filed
once oral arguments have commenced.
Article XII: Awards
1. Regional Level
a. FDMCC Regional Champion Award- given to the team with the
highest scores at the end of the final round.
b. FDMCC Regional First Runner-up Award- given to the team with
the second highest score at the end of the final round.
c. FDMCC Regional Second Runner-up Award- given to the team
with the third highest score at the end of the semi-final
round.
d. FDMCC Best Oral Advocate Regional Award- given to the
competitor who has the highest average oral scores for the
three Preliminary Rounds. Competitors must argue in at
least two of the three Preliminary Regional Rounds to be
eligible for this award.
e. FDMCC Best Respondent Brief Regional Award- given to the
Respondent team with the highest average score.
f. FDMCC Best Petitioner Brief Regional Award- given to the
Petitioner team with the highest average score. 2. National Level
a. FDMCC National Champion Award- given to the team with the
highest score at the end of the final round.
b. FDMCC National First Runner-up Award- given to the team with
the second highest score at the end of the final round.
c. FDMCC National Second Runner up Award – given to the team
with the third highest score at the end of the semifinal
round.
d. FDMCC National Best Oral Advocate Award- given to the
competitor who has the highest average oral scores for the
three Preliminary Rounds. Competitors must argue in at
least two of the three Preliminary National Rounds to be
eligible for this award.
! ")!
e. Helen Dawn Williams Oral Advocacy Award- an honorable
mention award is given to the second highest oral advocate
in the National preliminary rounds.
f. FDMCC National Best Respondent Brief Award- given to the
Respondent team with the highest average score. The score is
calculated by averaging regional and the national score.
g. FDMCC National Best Petitioner Brief Award- given to the
Petitioner team with the highest average score. The score
will be calculated by combining the regional average score
and the national average score. Article XIII: Conduct - The Conduct of all FDMCC participants (team members and coaches), will be governed by the standards set out in the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility and Rules of Professional Conduct. Article XIV: Authority
1. The National and Regional Directors shall have sole discretion to
assess penalties or disqualify teams for violation of these rules.
Uniform penalties will be assessed for each type of violation.
2. The National Director has sole discretion to interpret these
rules. Requests for rule interpretation, prior to the
competition, must be emailed by the requesting school to the
National Director at [email protected] in a timely manner.
Responses to questions will be posted on the Q & A section of the
FDMCC TWEN site.
3. The National Director has sole discretion to answer substantive
questions concerning the FDMCC problem. All such inquiries must
be emailed by the requesting school to the National Director at
the aforementioned email address prior to October 31st.
4. The National Director’s decisions regarding protests against other teams’ briefs, rule interpretations, and/or substantive
inquiries are final.
5. The National Director may exercise his/her discretion to create
additional rules to address matters not covered in this section.
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Article XV: Contact Information
1. Questions regarding the National Competition shall be directed to:
Cara B. Sherman
National Director
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (912) 660-4148
2. FDMCC correspondence and inquiries relating to the Regional Competitions should be addressed to the appropriate Regional Director:
Mid-Atlantic Regional Director: Noaka Clyburn
Email: [email protected]
Midwest Regional Director: Cheng-Yo Hou Email: [email protected]
Northeast Regional Director: Chris Ellis Jr.
Email: [email protected] Rocky Mountain Regional Director: Bianca Roberson Email: [email protected]
Southern Regional Director: Ashley Barnett or Sharee Tumbling
Email: [email protected]
Western Regional Director: Trecinna Lankford-Abundis
Email: [email protected]
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2012-13 NATIONAL FREDERICK DOUGLASS MOOT COURT COMPETITION
REGISTRATION FORM
SCHOOL NAME
COMPETITOR 1 First Name Last Name Year in Law School
COMPETITOR 2 First Name Last Name Year in Law School
COACH First Name Last Name Year in Law School
DESIGNATED TEAM CONTACT PERSON: (this person is responsible for communicating all updates and important information to competitors)
NAME:
First Name Middle Initial Last Name
EMAIL ADDRESS
PHONE OFFICE CELL
MAILING ADDRESS
Number Street Suite/Apt/Floor
City State Zip Code
Alt. Contact Person: Name Email Phone
Instructions: Return completed registration form by mail to the following address:
Cara Sherman
NBLSA FDMCC Director P.O. Box 1109
State College, PA 16804 Please send a copy of the completed registration form and a check in the amount of $350.00 (or $300.00) made payable to “NBLSA – Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition” to the following address: National Black Law Students Association
Attn: Frederick Douglass Competition 1225 11th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001-4217
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2012-13 NATIONAL FREDERICK DOUGLASS MOOT COURT COMPETITION
PROOF OF SERVICE
The undersigned certify that our team served three bound copies of its brief to the National Director and uploaded an identical copy of such brief to the FDMCC TWEN Course in accordance with Article VI, § 14(b) of the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition Official Rules. To effectuate proper service, brief packages must be postmarked to the National Director, by Monday, November 15, 2012.
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Print or Type Member Name Team Member Signature Date
Print or Type Member Name Team Member Signature Date
Print or Type Coach Name Coach Signature Date
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2012-13 NATIONAL FREDERICK DOUGLASS MOOT COURT COMPETITION
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
The undersigned certify that our team has complied with Article IV and VI of the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition Official Rules. The brief of ________________Law School/ School of Law is the work product solely of the undersigned students. Further, the undersigned students have not received any assistance from any faculty or other assistance in researching or writing the brief other than assistance permitted by Article XI.
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Print or Type Member Name Team Member Signature Date
Print or Type Member Name Team Member Signature Date Print or Type Coach Name Coach Signature Date