APS Wins Four Awards at Moot Court Competition

Moot Court Competition - 2017 — Atlanta Public Schools moot court teams won four awards at the Seventh Annual Young Litigators Moot Court Competition, held recently at the Fulton County Government Center.

Atlanta Public Schools (APS) students made an impressive showing at the Seventh Annual Young Litigators Moot Court competition, held last week at the Fulton County Government Center.

Moot Court is a mock Supreme Court hearing where teams work with attorneys and write a brief based on a current issue. The teams pose as lawyers and defend their brief in front of panel of distinguished judges. The 2017 issue dealt with the Fourth Amendment and a law enforcement officer allegedly using excessive force to subdue a fleeing individual.

APS teams from Martin Luther King and Crawford Long Middle School competed in the middle school category, while teams from South Atlanta, Drew Charter and Therrell High School competed in the high school category. APS schools came away with four awards:

— Middle School, Best Brief – M.L. King
— Middle School, Overall Team – M.L. King
— Middle School, Best Oral Argument – Zeruiah Wilson, Long
— High School, Best Oral Argument – Alvin Winston, Drew Charter

The seven-member panel of judges included famed attorney Benjamin L. Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin. Attorney Crump, of ParksCrump Attorneys at Law, specializes in personal injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice cases. Students presented Crump with the Young Litigators Social Justice Award following the competition.

The other panelists were Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation Judge Johnny Mason; Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney; Fulton County Associate Juvenile Court Judge Renata Turner; Attorney Cora Graves of Gwinnett County Public Schools; Attorney Chantel Mullen Chief Executive Officer of Mullen and Associate, LLC and Mullen Law; and Attorney Adam Sutton of the Cordell and Cordell Law Firm.

If you would like additional information on moot court, or would like to start a team at your school and have it involved in the 2018 competition, send an email to soul.stice@ymail.com or visit www.soulsticeinc.com.

Middle School Teams

Martin Luther King
Kameron Clark and Miles Jackson
Principal: Paul Brown
Sponsor: Shekela Edwards
Attorney Advisor: Christopher Cottrell
Assistant: Nyomi Haynes

Crawford Long
Tony Philips, Jartavious Wallace, Shaluan Fox and Zeruiah Wilson
Principal: Lisa Hill
Sponsor: Kiwi Cody
Attorney Advisor: Amanda Jones

High School Teams

Charles Drew Charter
Alvin Winston, Naima Cooper, Naomi Ray, Brooke Turpeau and India Girualt
Principal: Peter McKnight
Sponsor: Jennifer Ulbrich

South Atlanta
Alexander Render, Miesha Young and Carla Franklin
Principal: Dr. Patricia Ford
Sponsor: Tom Dunn
Attorney Advisor: Lakeesh Dent
Assistant: Destinee Holt

Therrell
Treasure Ransom
Principal: Shelly Powell
Sponsor: Anthony Jackson
Attorney Advisor: Terrell Dark