Jan. 24, 2013

UF Law Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center courtroom

UF Law welcomed all seven members of the Florida Supreme Court, who heard oral arguments in the 29th annual Raymer F. Maguire Jr. Appellate Advocacy Competition.

One of the foremost national moot court teams, the Florida Moot Court Team competes each year at over a dozen tournaments throughout the country. The team has been a fixture at UF Law since 1909 when the college was founded, but was organized into its current form in 1961.

The University of Florida Levin College of Law will welcome a distinguished panel of judges for the 28th annual Maguire Appellate Advocacy Competition in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center courtroom.

This year’s panel includes Senior United States District Judge William Terrell Hodges, from the Middle District of Florida; the First District Court of Appeal’s Stephane W. Ray; United States Magistrate Judge Thomas B. Smith from the Middle District of Florida; and the First District Court of Appeal’s Bradford L. Thomas.

The decision upheld the Florida Supreme Court ruling that the state can conduct beach-widening and reclaiming programs on eroded beaches – which could modify private property lines – without having to compensate private waterfront property owners. This could result in property owners losing private access to the beach and lower property values.

UF College of Law experts are available to discuss the case and the ramifications of the court’s decision.

Michael Allan Wolf – Wolf is the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, general editor of Powell on Property, a widely cited treatise on real property law, and author of several nationally recognized articles on regulatory takings law. His expertise includes property law, eminent domain and zoning. He can be reached at 352-273-0934 (office), 352-359-2497 (cell) or wolfm@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page.

Danaya Wright – Wright is the Clarence TeSelle Professor of Law. Her expertise includes constitutional property law and property law. She is the author of several nationally recognized articles on regulatory takings law. She can be reached at 352-273-0946 or wrightdc@law.ufl.edu. View her faculty page.

The University of Florida has a broadcast studio equipped for live or live-to-tape interviews through our KU digital satellite uplink. For radio networks, we also have an ISDN live for clean audio interviews. To contact the UF College of Law Communications Office, call 352-273-0650 or e-mail mlwalker@law.ufl.edu.

Professor Amar is the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale. His work has been cited more than 20 times by the U.S. Supreme Court; he has also been mentioned on the popular TV show The West Wing, to which he was a consultant. Amar served as editor of the Yale Law Review and clerked in the First Circuit for then-Judge Stephen Breyer. He has authored five books, including America’s Constitution: A Biography and The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction. His work has been honored by many groups, including the Federalist Society.

“Professor Amar is one of our nation’s leading constitutional scholars and his Dunwody lecture will be a stimulating and informative discussion for all,” said Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Canady, a friend and fellow Yale Law School graduate who plans to attend the Dunwody lecture.

Amar’s constitutional law course at Yale is one of the most popular undergraduate classes at campus. “Professor Amar is a brilliant, engaging and entertaining lecturer,” said Peggy Hunt, a third-year UF law student and former student of Amar’s. “His constitutional law class was one of my favorite courses at Yale.”

The public is invited to attend the lecture, hosted by the Florida Law Review, at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, at the UF College of Law campus in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (Holland 180) or via webcast at http://www.floridalawreview.com.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Florida Law Review, the college will webcast the Dunwody Lecture in Law for the first time on the World Wide Web.

“The fact that UF alumni and students and faculty from colleges around the world can join in the celebration makes this Dunwody Lecture very special,” said Larry Dougherty, editor-in-chief of the Florida Law Review.

The Dunwody Lecture Series was established by U.S. Sugar Corporation and the law firms of Dunwody, White, & Landon, P.A. and Mershon, Sawyer, Johnston, Dunwody and Cole in honor of UF law graduates Elliot and Atwood Dunwody. The honorees were brothers who dedicated their lives to the legal profession and who set a standard of excellence for The Florida Bar.

For more information on the March 24 event, webcast, Dunwody Lecture series or the Florida Law Review, visit http://www.floridalawreview.com.