Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia School of Law recently defeated the University of Florida School of Law in the annual Hulsey/Gambrell Moot Court Competition in Jacksonville, Fla.
Formerly known as the Hulsey-Kimbrell Moot Court Competition, this contest is traditionally held at the end of October on the eve of the Georgia-Florida football game. Two law students from each school compete as lawyers in a mock appellate case, and the victors in the case earn the right to keep the championship trophy at their law school for the year.
Representing the law school in the moot court competition were third-year law students John A. Eunice from Valdosta, Ga., and Jocelyn N. Maner from Augusta, Ga. This year’s win continued Georgia Law’s dominance of the tournament with a record of 20-8-2.
This year’s case was a criminal appeal. The issues argued were whether the Equal Protection Clause prohibited a prosecutor’s use of peremptory strikes during jury selection based solely on religious affiliation or involvement and whether Federal Rule of Evidence 606B prohibited the trial judge from considering a juror’s affidavit about racially biased comments made during jury deliberations in a hearing for a new trial.
“I am very proud of the continuing success of our team in this competition,” Georgia Law Director of Advocacy Kellie Casey said. “It is very rewarding to see our students’ hard work pay off with a victory in what has become both a fun tradition and an intense rivalry.”
The competition, which was in abeyance last year, was started more than 30 years ago when Mark Hulsey, a partner with the Jacksonville law firm Smith Hulsey & Busey and a UF graduate, and Charlie Kimbrell, a lawyer practicing in Miami who was a UGA graduate, agreed to co-sponsor the event. Both original founders have since passed away, but their legacy lives on. Today, Smith Hulsey & Busey and the law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell-which has offices in Atlanta and Jacksonville among other locations-support this annual courtroom contest.
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