UGA law student wins best advocate at regional mock trial tournament; Howard wins internal competition

Abstract

Friday, February 18, 2005

WRITER/CONTACT: Heidi Murphy, 706/542-5172, hmurphy@uga.edu

UGA law student wins best advocate at regional mock trial tournament; Howard wins internal competition

ATHENS, Ga. – Last week (Feb. 10-13), Veronica L. Richardson, a second-year student at the University of Georgia School of Law, was named best advocate at the regional Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition held in New Orleans, La.

The competition pitted students from 19 southern law schools against each other in oral arguments in a mock courtroom. UGA was represented by Richardson, second-year student Ayotunde “Tunde” O. Ezekiel and third-year students H. Joseph Colette and Jadun O. McCarthy. As a team, Georgia finished the tournament in second place and will advance to the national round of the competition to be held in Colorado next month.

Third-year student Charmel L. Gaulden coached the team, which was sponsored by the law school’s Davenport-Benham Black Law Students Association.

In addition, the final round of a law school internal competition, the J. Ralph Beaird Closing Argument Mock Trial Competition, was held on Feb. 11. First-year students Leif A. Howard and Lauren D. Bellamy presented closing arguments in front of a judge and jury, with Howard taking home the top trophy.

Howard and Bellamy were the finalists of the multi-week tournament that started with 45 first-year students.

The distinguished jury panel for the final round of the competition included Georgia Supreme Court justices George H. Carley and P. Harris Hines, attorneys Edward T.M. Garland and Kenneth W. Mauldin, and professors Lonnie T. Brown Jr., Alan A. Cook, Russell C. Gabriel, Erica J. Hashimoto, David E. Shipley and Camilla E. Watson. The presiding judge was Professor Ronald L. Carlson.

This tournament is named for Beaird, dean emeritus and longtime faculty member of Georgia Law.

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