Moot Court Showcase Argument View Calendar
62nd Annual
Moot Court Showcase Argument
Andrea Tuckerman, Petitioners
v.
Betterly Hills County School District and Beatrice Bliss, Respondents
The Patrick F. McCartan Courtroom
March 1, 2012
4:00 p.m.
THE COURT
The Honorable Emilio M. Garza
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
The Honorable Raymond M. Kethledge
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
The Honorable Martha A. Vazquez
United States District Court of New Mexico
THE ADVOCATES
For Petitioners
Caitlin C. Sikes
Weston, Florida
Aaron J. Stoll
Fort Wayne, IN
Guy J. Thompson
Tucson, Arizona
For Respondents
Joshua L. Bennett
Jupiter, Florida
Joseph M. Callaghan
Villa Park, Illinois
Michael A. Erbele
Fargo, North Dakota
MOOT COURT APPELLATE ADVISORS
Professor Christine Venter
THE CASE
Andrea Tuckerman was a top student and the favorite to be the valedictorian of her senior class at Betterly Hills High School. After studying over the long Columbus Day weekend, Andrea aced a pop quiz in her AP American History class. Brendon Walsh, another top student and Andrea’s main competition for valedictorian honors, had spent the holiday weekend in Minneapolis with his family. Andrea was surprised to learn that Brendon, who she thought could not have possibly studied while on vacation, had matched her quiz score. That night, frustrated at the day’s events, Andrea sat at her personal laptop in her bedroom and wrote a blog post implying that Brendon had cheated on the quiz. Andrea’s blog was very popular with other Betterly Hills honors students and her post created quite the stir at BHHS. In the days following her blog posting, there was a significant spike in violations of the school’s policy banning student cell phone use. When rumors of Andrea’s allegations reached school administrators, Vice Principal Beatrice Bliss conducted an investigation and eventually determined that the allegations against Brendon Walsh were false. Ms. Bliss suspended Andrea Tuckerman from school for a week.
In addition to being an honor student, Andrea was semi-famous because of her recent performance on the nationally-televised talent show, “America’s Got Pretty Talented People.” When word of Andrea’s suspension reached the local press, various news outlets aired stories regarding Andrea’s “fall from grace.” During an interview, Ms. Bliss told a reporter that Andrea had a “documented history of being disciplined for cheating.”
On Dec. 1, 2008, Andrea’s parents notified the School Board and Ms. Bliss that they were planning to file suit for violation of Andrea’s First Amendment right of free speech and defamation. In an effort to prove actual malice, an essential element of defamation, Andrea’s attorney sought all communications between Ms. Bliss and Andrea’s teachers. Ms. Bliss, however, was unable to produce those emails and claimed that she had deleted them from her computer because she needed to free up space in her email account. Unfortunately, through no fault of any of the parties, the emails were also erased from the school’s back-up data tapes and the outboxes of the teachers with whom Ms. Bliss had corresponded.
The District Court for the District of Old York ruled in favor of Andrea Tuckerman on her First Amendment claim, finding that her off-campus speech was protected. The court also ruled for Ms. Tuckerman on the issue of Ms. Bliss’ spoliation of evidence, finding that its issuance of an adverse inference was proper. The Fourteenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed both of the trial court’s rulings.
The Supreme Court of the United States has granted certiorari on two questions:
(1) What standard should the Court apply when deciding whether a school district has the authority to discipline students for internet speech?
(2) May a court issue an adverse inference for spoliation of evidence where the spoliating party acted negligently and without any bad faith?
BIOGRAPHIES
THE HONORABLE EMILIO M. GARZA
After completing both his undergraduate education (1969) and earning a Master of Arts degree (1970) at the University of Notre Dame, Judge Garza served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps until 1973 when he entered law school at the University of Texas. He practiced law at Clemens, Spencer, Welmaker & Fink (now known as Clemens & Spencer) in his hometown of San Antonio from 1976 until 1987 when he was appointed by William P. Clements, the then governor of Texas, to the 225th District Court in Bexar County.
Shortly thereafter, President Ronald Reagan appointed Garza to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. After three years of honorable service as a district judge, Garza was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. A 2003 profile in Texas Lawyer quotes University of Texas School of Law professor Lino Graglia’s analysis of Garza as a "soundly reasonable and basically conservative judge who engages in self-restraint on the bench.” In 1999, Garza wrote the 5th Circuit’s en banc opinion in Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, upholding a lower court decision to grant immunity to officers sued by a woman who was arrested and jailed for violating a seat belt law. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to affirm the ruling. In May 2003, Time Magazine listed Judge Garza as one of President George W. Bush administration’s “top contenders” for future Supreme Court vacancies.
THE HONORABLE RAYMOND M. KETHLEDGE
Honorable Raymond M. Kethledge was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on July 8, 2008. He received his B.A. in History from the University of Michigan in 1989, and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1993. He clerked for the Honorable Ralph B. Guy, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Justice Anthony Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court. Judge Kethledge also worked in the United States Senate and later, with two partners, founded a boutique litigation firm, now known as Bush, Seyferth & Paige PLLC, in Troy, Michigan. His practice there included a mix of trial-court, appellate, and class-action litigation.
THE HONORABLE MARTHA A. VAZQUEZ
Judge Martha Vazquez was the first female appointed to the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Judge Vazquez is a double Domer, receiving a B.A. in 1975 and a J.D. in 1978. Immediately after law school she worked as a clerk for Michigan Migrant Legal Services in Berrien Springs before beginning her work with the Public Defenders Office in New Mexico. In 1981 she joined the Sante Fe law firm of Jones, Snead, Wertheim, Rodriguez & Wentworth, where she was heavily involved in civil litigation. She was nominated and approved as a federal judge in 1993.
As an attorney, she demonstrated her commitment to victims’ rights by successfully bringing a case in the mid-80’s involving exposure to toxic chemicals when many other attorneys refused the case. Judge Vazquez worked to promote Hispanic and female involvement in the legal profession. She served on various committees of the New Mexico State Bar related to minorities and helped organize the Northern New Mexico Women’s Bar Association in 1991. She has received high marks by many attorneys who have litigated cases in her court. One attorney stated that she is “… looking out to protect the underdog” while another observed that she “… fights for peoples’ rights.”
