The Honorable John R. Brown served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1955 until his death in 1993, and was one of the nation's most prominent admiralty judges. Shortly after his death, The University of Texas School of Law established in his honor the "Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition," an interscholastic appellate advocacy competition.
Each year, the Competition is held under the joint sponsorship of The University of Texas School of Law and a local host school. This year's Sixteenth Annual Competition is locally hosted by Charleston School of Law. The Competition will be held March 26th through March 28th in Charleston, South Carolina.
Major funding each year is provided by the Houston law firm of Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams, L.L.P. (where Judge Brown practiced from 1932 to 1955) and the Maritime Law Association of the United States. Inquiries regarding sponsorship of the competition may be directed to Frank "Clay" Swaggard at FSwaggard@charlestonlaw.edu.
As in years past, last year we were privileged to have distinguished judges serving as judges for the Championship Round. For the Semi-Final Rounds, we were pleased to have as judges prominent members of the maritime bar, Presidents and Past Presidents of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, and admiralty professors. A list of last year’s judges can be found above. Inquiries about judging in the competition may be directed to Frank "Clay" Swaggard at FSwaggard@charlestonlaw.edu.
For teams interested in participation, the registration deadline is December 4th. Each school may enter one or two teams consisting of two or three competitors each. Registration will be done on a first-come, first-served basis, and space is limited, so prompt enrollment is recommended. The registration fee will be $200 for each team. Links to the registration form and a schedule of important dates are provided above. Additionally, a link to the 2008 problem is provided above to aid coaches in selecting a team. The competition uses primarily electronic filing, which is intended to save participants both time and money. Any inquiries about the problem or registration may be directed to Jeremy Wells at jhw218@gmail.com.