FlaLaw » 2005 » October » 10

Scholarship & Activities: Christopher Peterson

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 19:05:13 +0000

Assistant Professor Christopher Peterson testified at an administrative policy hearing held by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at its Washington, D.C. headquarters Sept. 29. The title of the meeting was “Affordable, Responsible Short-Term Credit,” and Peterson spoke on debt problems and solutions for military borrowers. Peterson presented his article “Predatory Lending and the Military: The Law and Geography of ‘Payday’ Loans in Military Towns,” at the faculty enrichment series at Florida State University Oct. 3.

Scholarship & Activities

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 19:02:58 +0000

Professor Christine Klein published “On Integrity: Some Considerations for Water Law,” 56 Alabama L. Rev. 1009 (2005).

Law Students Organize Homecoming

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 18:58:50 +0000

To people in Gainesville, the word “Homecoming” carries all sorts of meanings. A huge party. A shorter school week, with less time to study. A game you can’t afford to lose.

To Brian Roof (2L), Homecoming is all that and a great deal more. Roof is president of Florida Blue Key, the group founded to organize the events surrounding the big game. For decades, FBK has been charged with putting together UF’s beloved homecoming parade, managing the world’s largest pep rally, hosting a banquet for alumni and other duties.

This year – as happens often – the group is run largely by law students. Roof is in his second year as president of FBK, and Vice President Chris Carmody (3L), Treasurer Lauren Fackender (2L) and Secretary Cecily MacLeod (2L) all hail from the Levin College of Law. For the past few weeks, they have been working around the clock to balance their studies with their Homecoming responsibilities.

“The phones have been ringing off the hook this week,” Roof said in an interview from the FBK offices a few days before the game. “We have people calling non-stop for tickets to Gator Growl, and we’ve been inundated with questions about the parade.”

Roof said he typically spends the week before Homecoming dealing with last-minute crises. This year, for instance, an eleventh-hour problem with insurance policies almost kept the group from getting the portable buildings it uses as headquarters for Gator Growl.

By last week, one of the group’s toughest jobs – the nationwide search for a comic to perform at the Growl – was already done. The group chose improv virtuoso Wayne Brady to headline the show.

“We wanted to find someone people know and like, but we also wanted someone with an unusual take on comedy,” Roof said. FBK advises comics to “keep it PG-13,” but Roof acknowledges that, in the past, some acts have ventured into material that is a little more racy than the group expected.

“We do our best to keep it clean, but in a crowd of thousands, you’re always going to have at least a few people who find something offensive,” Roof said.

Roof and other FBK officers were also part of the show: Fackender and Carmody appeared in a pre-recorded comedy newscast shown between acts. Roof and others appeared in a skit described as a “self-parody” of Florida Blue Key.

After the show, Blue Key’s law-student organizers will get back to business as usual – which means studying round-theclock to make up for material they missed in the weeks before Homecoming.

“I wish I could say we all had a chance to relax after Homecoming is over,” Roof said. “But I don’t see that happening for a few weeks at least.”

Regional Victory for Moot Court Team

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 18:36:59 +0000

For the second year in a row, the University of Florida’s Moot Court team has captured first place in the Thomas Tang Southeastern Regional Moot Court Competition.

Team members Chris Carmody (3L) and Anne Zerbe (3L) defeated a team from George Washington University to win the competition, which drew teams from law schools around the Southeast. The pair will travel to Chicago in early November to compete for the national title.

Competitors were asked to argue a hypothetical appeal regarding a man charged with unlawful possession of firearms and government documents after a police officer found a submachine gun and blueprints for an Aegis-class naval crusier in his car. The officer searched the car after arresting the man on drug charges – though the defendant was on foot, about to enter the car, at the time of that arrest.

“The case raised some interesting Fourth and Fifth Amendment issues,” Carmody said.

UF students Kimberly Lorenz (3L) and Amy Fletcher (3L) also competed in the event. The two UF teams actually competed against each other at one point in the contest, after schedules were adjusted to make up for the hurricane-related withdrawal of the Tulane team.

After the UF teams competed against each other, Carmody said, the judges “commented on how UF always seems to do well in these competitions.”

Carmody and Zerbe were coached by Alissa Lugo(2L), Elizabeth Paulk (3L) and Marty Fulgueira (3L). Lorenz and Fletcher were coached by Natalia Medina (2L), Gina Civin (2L) and Valerie Brennan (3L).

UF’s moot court team will compete in two other competitions this semester. Ajda Demirdoken (3L), Brady Ward (3L), Isaac Wannos (3L), and Joe Darr (3L) will compete in the San Diego Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition later this month. The team also will send Christine Fuqua and Jarrett Deluca to compete in the Florida-Georgia Annual Battle in Jacksonville. These competitions provide students an excellent opportunity to hone their advocacy skills in a realistic setting while at the same time dealing with important legal issues.

All third- and fourth-semester students are encouraged to try out for Moot Court.