Respondents strutted in donning sunglasses and the petitioners danced out to the Caribbean beat of “Who Let the Dogs Out” by the Baha Men.
The first annual MSU-Detroit College of Law Professor Moot Court Competition - The Rumble in the Jungle - proved to be oh-so-different from what law students are used to.
The sold-out event, sponsored by The National Black Law Student Association, was held Wednesday night in the MSU-DCL Moot Court room. It featured Connell Alsup, the assistant dean for Student Affairs, and three professors who debated the criminal procedure search and seizure issue.
More than 100 audience members showed up to watch the MSU-DCL faithful battle over issues the law community deems controversial.
Antavius Weems, regional vice chairman for the Midwest chapter of The National Black Law Students Association located at MSU-DCL, has already received many compliments on the event he described as a laid-back atmosphere where students could let loose.
“It was a huge success that helped to build community at the law school,” Weems said.
He also explained the event’s title.
“Rumble refers to the basic situation where the participants are basically duking it out,” Weems said. “And law school is commonly referred to as the jungle by students.”
While the event was mainly for entertainment, it served as a fund-raiser for The National Black Law Students Association convention in February, which will be held at MSU-DCL.
Each professor contestant was allowed 10 minutes to give their side of an issue in front of six student justices - who ultimately decided who put forth the best argument.
There were also awards handed out to contestants and student judges for categories such as most persuasive argument and coolest hairstyle.
The mock court case involved the search and seizure of a man suspected to be in possession of marijuana. Police officers searched his home and the law professors were asked to decide whether the search was conducted illegally.
“It was an important ‘turnabout for fair play,’ ” said Michael Lawrence, one of the professors who competed in Wednesday’s event.
“The professors were in a setting where they are in the spotlight and not the students.”
But some joke that professors were still in control. The student judges were taunted with threats to their grades as all judges had at least one of the participants as professors.
However, judges countered back, taking every opportunity to point out mistakes their professors were making.
When presented with a difficult question he didn’t have an answer for, Professor Michael Kelly asked if he could use a lifeline.
He proceeded to pull out his cellular phone to use his “phone-a-friend” option and pretended to call the U.S. Supreme Court to see what it had to say.
When that failed, he chose to use a second lifeline and polled the audience.
“This event allowed for a lot of students to get together and have a release from the day-to-day rigors of law school,” third-year MSU-DCL student Iftin Mohamed said.
Carmen Fahie agreed.
“Law is always so serious and it is nice to be able to laugh at it for a change,” the third-year MSU-DCL student said.
