“We are honored to be recognized for our achievements,” said Florida Moot Court President Leigh Anne Siddle (3L). “Our ranking is a reflection of a talented program that is developing as a competitive force on the national level.”

During its 2010-2011 competitions, members of the Florida Moot Court team won three regional championships, including the regional title at the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition, a Best Brief award at the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition, three Best Oral Advocate awards at the ABA National Competition, the National Tax Competition, and the Navy JAG Competition, and competed on UF’s team that won the national championship at the National Tax Competition.

The 32 ranking points earned by the Florida Moot Court team, when combined with the 10 points earned by UF Law’s team for the National Tax Competition, resulted in the University of Florida Levin College of Law being ranked 11th among all U.S. law schools and third among the public law schools in the most recent Blakely Advocacy Institute Rankings of moot court programs.

The top 16 schools in the ranking will compete in the Third Annual Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship in Houston. This is the first time that any University of Florida moot court team has been invited to send a three-person team to the competition.

“The Florida Moot Court team is honored to be invited to the national championship in Houston,” Siddle said. “The Houston Team is eager to live up to the high standards set last year, and they are confident they will bring a national championship to the Levin College of Law.”

The team has already begun preparing for the January 2012 National Championship. Florida Moot Court’s Houston Team is comprised of Celia Thacker (3L), Monica Haddad (3L) and Alex Landback (3L). This year’s competition problem deals with the interpretation of environmental and criminal statutes in the context of a negligent chemical spill and subsequent witness tampering.

Thacker will write the appellate brief to be submitted in December. Meanwhile, Haddad, winner of Best Oralist at the 25th Annual Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe Moot Court Final Four Competition in September 2010, and Landback, winner of Best Oral Advocate at the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition during the Florida Bar Convention in June 2011, will be the team’s oral advocates.

The Florida Moot Court team is preparing for 10 regional and national competitions across the country this year, coordinating its members into two to three member teams to send to each competition. Competing members are tasked with preparing their appellate brief and arguing both sides of the case.

“This requires a thorough knowledge of the facts and underlying law as well as a firm grasp on the strengths and weaknesses of the case,” Siddle said.

Five of the Florida Moot Court team’s newest members competed in front of distinguished state and federal judges at the 26th Annual Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe Moot Court Final Four Competition on Sept. 9. Danielle Grundt (2L), Amy Podolsky (2L), Kelsey Veitengruber (2L), and Brandon White (2L) argued in front of the panel of judges with Dylan Shea (2L) serving as alternate. White and Podolsky were selected as Best Team and Veitengruber won Best Oralist. Podolsky also won Best Overall and Best Brief as part of the intramural competition.

This year’s panel of judges included former Judge Monterey “Buddy” Campbell from the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal, Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington of the United States Middle District of Florida, Judge James S. Moody of the United States Middle District of Florida, and Judge Paul C. Huck of the United States Southern District of Florida.

“The Florida Moot Court Team is proud of the Final Four competitors as well as the 13 other new members,” Siddle said. “The team is excited about the upcoming competition year.”

This annual event is held in conjunction with The Florida Bar convention at the Gaylord Resort in Orlando, and features teams from each law school from the state of Florida. Furthermore, the competitors met many Levin College of Law alumni from across the state. The competition focused on two issues: the 4th Amendment implications of a warrantless GPS tracking device, and a juror’s non-disclosure during voir dire. Siddle and Wasserstrom split the juror portion, while Landback argued the GPS issue for both respondent and petitioner. The team would like to thank their families and teammates that came out to watch the oral arguments. In particular, the team would like to thank the Honorable Edward C. LaRose (2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland) for his support during the preliminary rounds.

UF Law students Andrew Labbe, Leigh Anne Siddle, Monica Haddad and Jordan Peterson (supported by alternate Daniel Lazaro) argued before a panel of federal and state judges Sept. 10 in the 25th Annual Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe Moot Court Final Four Competition. The bench featured a distinguished panel of state and federal judges: The Honorable Jacqueline R. Griffin, Fifth District Court of Appeal; The Honorable Robert Hinkle, Northern District of Florida; The Honorable William Terrell Hodges, Middle District of Florida; The Honorable Paul C. Huck, Southern District of Florida; and The Honorable Steven D. Merryday, Middle District of Florida.

The oralists argued a civil rights case involving Fourth Amendment issues concerning an unlawful search and seizure of files on a student’s personal laptop, the student’s removal from the school newspaper staff and censorship of her articles in violation of her First Amendment right to free speech before the judicial panel and a standing-room-only audience in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center.

The students were not the only ones exited about the competition. “I like to judge these events because the quality and enthusiasm of the students blows me away,” Judge Jacqueline Griffin said. “I find it invigorating.”

While all competitors made outstanding and persuasive arguments, the Respondents, Monica Haddad and Jordan Peterson, prevailed, winning the Best Team award. Jordan Peterson won Best Overall, Monica Haddad won Best Oralist, and Aaron Wasserstrom won Best Brief.

To see the competitors’ biographies, read last week’s story.

From left: Monica Haddad, Jordan Peterson, Daniel Lazaro, Andrew Labbe and Leigh Anne Siddle.

UF Law students Leigh Anne Siddle, Andrew Labbe, Monica Haddad, and Jordan Peterson (supported by alternate Daniel Lazaro) will argue before a panel of five distinguished judges in the 25th Annual Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe Moot Court Final Four Competition that will take place this Friday, Sept. 10. This year’s panel will be comprised of federal and state judges from throughout the state of Florida: The Honorable Jacqueline R. Griffin, Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal; The Honorable Robert Hinkle, Northern District of Florida; The Honorable William Terrell Hodges, Middle District of Florida; The Honorable Paul C. Huck, Southern District of Florida; and The Honorable Steven D. Merryday, Middle District of Florida.

After intense preparation and participation in this summer’s Florida Moot Court Intramural competition, the final four competitors and alternate, along with 13 other exceptional competitors, became the newest members of the Florida Moot Court Team, governed by the Justice Campbell Thornal Executive Board.

The Final Four competitors will showcase their oral argument skills this Friday, Sept. 10, at 10 a.m. in the recently constructed Martin H. Levin Legal Advocacy Center. All law students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend. It is expected to be a full house, so please plan to arrive early. Cell phones must be turned off or in silent mode. Come out to watch these outstanding oralists argue Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues, as well as First Amendment freedom of speech issues.

Competitor Biographies:

Leigh Anne Siddle

Leigh Anne Siddle, a native Floridian, graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Special Education. Following graduation, Siddle taught high school for several years prior to enrolling in law school. This past summer, Siddle interned for the Honorable Edward C. LaRose at the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland. In addition to competing in the 25th Annual Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliff Moot Court Final Four Competition, Siddle is also a member of the Journal of Law & Public Policy. After receiving her law degree, Siddle intends to pursue appellate work as well as conduct pro bono work in Elder Law.

Andrew Labbe

Andrew Labbe was born and raised in Cape Cod, Mass. Andrew graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in History and Sociology. Immediately upon graduation, Andrew moved to Orlando to attend Barry University School of Law. While at Barry, Andrew received the Book Award in his Legal Research & Writing class both semesters, and also reached the Final Four in the First Year Moot Court Competition. During his 1L summer, Andrew interned for the General Counsel at Connextions, Inc., serving as the point person for Fortune 50 member UnitedHealth Group and other significant clients, such as TiVo and Keystone Health.

Monica Haddad

Monica Haddad is a second year law student at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Monica graduated from the University of Florida in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. In 2007, she earned her master’s degree in information studies from the University of Texas at Austin. While in Austin, Monica worked for UT General Libraries and IBM. Before law school, she worked as a reference librarian and project archivist at Nova Southeastern University. During the summer of 2010, Monica worked as a research assistant for Professor William H. Page, helping update an antitrust treatise. She is a member of the Florida Journal of International Law and the Journal of Technology Law & Policy. She is also a teaching assistant for the first year Legal Research and Writing and Appellate Advocacy courses and serves as Vice President of the Intellectual Property Law and Technology Association and Secretary of the ABA Student Division at UF.

Jordan Peterson

Jordan C. Peterson is a second year law student at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. He was born in Jacksonville and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with departmental honors in German Literature in 2008. After graduation, Jordan worked in the natural language division of USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies in Los Angeles, helping to develop the language function in artificial intelligence and interactive media. Outside of school, Jordan enjoys cycling, watching college football, and singing bass in the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church choir. He is interested in pursuing a career in litigation and appellate work.

Daniel Lazaro

Dan Lazaro was born and raised in New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami, where he was inducted into Iron Arrow, the university’s highest honor. In addition to being an active member of the Florida Moot Court Team at the Levin College of Law, Dan is involved with the John Marshall Bar Association and OutLaw. After his first year of law school, Dan interned for United States District Judge Paul C. Huck of the Southern District of Florida and worked as a summer law clerk for the South Florida law firm, Gaebe, Mullen, Antonelli, and DiMatteo. After law school, Dan hopes to pursue a career in litigation. In his spare time, Dan enjoys reading, attending sporting events, and spending time with friends.