 Dean Allen Vestal |
Drake Law School’s 73rd annual Supreme Court Celebration will culminate with a banquet and awards ceremony on Saturday, March 6.
The Supreme Court Celebration banquet is a longstanding tradition at Drake Law School that honors the Iowa Supreme Court, student and alumni achievements and Drake’s relationship with the Iowa court and local law community.
“In an effort to reconnect our alumni with Drake Law School and a commitment to being good stewards of our donors’ support, we have chosen to move the Supreme Court Celebration back to campus,” said Law School Dean Allan Vestal. “It will be an incredible honor to have the members of the Iowa Supreme Court on Drake’s campus this year.”
The banquet begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the program at 6:30 p.m. in Parents Hall at Olmsted Center.
In addition, the Supreme Court Celebration includes dinners for the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law on Thursday, March 4, and Drake Law Review Dinner, Friday, March 5. There will be a Drake Moot Court luncheon on Saturday, March 6.
The final round of the Supreme Court Competition will be Saturday, March 6, in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building, 1111 E. Court Ave. Each year, outstanding advocates in the law school compete in the Supreme Court Competition for the honor of presenting final arguments to the Iowa Supreme Court. The competition is based upon a real case, using an actual record that was pending before the Iowa Supreme Court, thus giving competitors a realistic experience.
This year’s case involves Win-A-Lot Games, which invested in and deployed more than 6,400 TouchPlay machines across Iowa, only to have the Iowa Legislature ban the TouchPlay program. A dispute then developed over whether the Iowa Lottery could terminate the Win-A-Lot contract “without penalty” due to an act of the Legislature.
The District Court decided in favor of the Lottery, prompting Win-A-Lot to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court, which will determine whether the phrase “without penalty” shifted the risk to Win-A-Lot and whether Win-A-Lot is entitled to pursue non-contract remedies against the Lottery.
The competition is open to all second- and third-year law students and consists of two preliminary rounds, one on-brief and one off-brief. Each competitor argues individually in the preliminary rounds. The four top advocates based upon oral scores from the preliminary rounds advance to the final round.
The four finalists are paired as teams of two for the final round. The winners will be announced at the Supreme Court Celebration Banquet.
To learn more about all the Supreme Court Celebration events, make reservations or sponsor a Drake Law student to attend the events, visit the Web site or contact Leslie Herman at 515-271-3985 or leslie.herman@drake.edu