In the Spring semester, AJMLS first-year students receive appellate advocacy training. As part of this process, they participate in an appellate advocacy competition. The 1L Oral Advocacy Competition is divided into four initial rounds, with the pool of competing students becoming smaller with each round. The top four finalists then argue at the Georgia Court of Appeals before a bench of state and federal judges. Two winners, one advocating for the Appellant and one advocating for the Appellee, are then announced at the conclusion of the final round.
This year, our top four finalists argued at the Georgia Court of Appeals on April 18, 2012. The AJMLS finalists who argued before these judges were:
•Craig Samuel (Representing Appellant) – Winner
•Melba Melton (Representing Appellant) – Finalist
•Samuel Radin (Representing Appellee) – Finalist
•Nickolas Kitchens (Representing Appellee) – Winner
The judges who served on the bench for this final competition round were:
•The Honorable Keith R. Blackwell, Georgia Court of Appeals
•The Honorable Lana Layton, E.E.O.C.
•The Honorable Dax Lopez, DeKalb County State Court
•The Honorable. Christopher McFadden, Georgia Court of Appeals
•The Honorable E. Clayton Scofield, III, District Court, N.D. Ga.
•The Honorable Melvin K. Westmoreland, Superior Courts of Georgia
AJMLS would like to congratulate all of the finalists of this year’s 1L Oral Advocacy Competition! We also want to thank the stellar bench of judges who volunteered their time and lent their support to our students and to this annual competition!