Home > Registrar/Bursar > Gibbons Moot Court

John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition

I.  ABOUT JOHN J. GIBBONS

John J. Gibbons is the former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  He served on that Court from 1970 to 1990.  Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals, he was a partner in the New Jersey firm, Crummy, Gibbons & O'Neill, where he had extensive experience in commercial litigation.  Upon his retirement from the bench, he rejoined his old firm, now Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione.

Mr. Gibbons is a Trustee Emeritus of Holy Cross College, a Trustee of The Fund for New Jersey, and a Trustee Emeritus of the Practicing Law Institute.  he is a Past-President of the new Jersey State Bar Association, a Life Member of the American Law Institute, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He is a former member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and a former Chair of its Committee on Fair Trial and Free Press.  He has conducted missions outside the United States for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

While serving on the Court of Appeals, Judge Gibbons authored over 800 published opinions, a number of which appear in law school casebooks.  He has also published more than twenty law review articles.  He formerly taught Constitutional Law and other subjects at Seton Hall University Law School, where he held the Richard J. Hughes Chair in Constitutional Law until June, 1997.

Since returning to practice, Mr. Gibbons has headed the firm's Alternative Dispute Resolution Group and its Appellate Practice Group.  Mr. Gibbons is a member of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, England; a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators; a Director Emeritus of the American Arbitration Association; and a member of the National Panel of Distinguished Neutrals of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.  Mr. Gibbons has served as an arbitrator in international disputes under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce, The American Arbitration Association and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, as well as international disputes in which the parties directly selected the arbitrator.  Mr. Gibbons has also served as an arbitrator and a mediator in a number of large commercial disputes among major corporations.  He has also engaged in litigation involving antitrust, intellectual property law and securities regulation.

Mr. Gibbons has served as a Chapter Eleven Trustee of Marvel Entertainment Group, a NYSE Company, and of R.F.E. Industries, a company whose principals were convicted of fraud in its management.  He has also served as a Claims Administrator of a settlement fund in SEC v. PaineWebber.

Mr. Gibbons graduated from Holy Cross College in 1947 and from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1950.  He was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

II.  ABOUT THE COMPETITION

The John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition, now in its fifteenth year, focuses on timely issues of criminal procedure and criminal law.  Held at the Law School, in the heart of Newark, New Jersey, thirty-two teams from around the country compete annually.

Past winners of the competition include Boston College (2007/2006); Georgia State University School of Law (2005); American University-Washington College of Law (2004); New York Law School (2003); New York University School of Law (2002) and George Mason School of Law (2001).

The 2008 John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition is scheduled for March 28-29, 2008 at Seton Hall School of Law.  Registration begins on October 30th, 2007, and continues until the competition is full.  The competition rules and problem will be distributed in February 2008.

The preliminary competition consists of two rounds.  The competition banquet is held on Friday evening.  The octofinal, quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds are held on Saturday morning and afternoon at the law school. (Schedule is subject to change; however, the plans at this time are as noted above.)  An awards luncheon will follow the final round.  Awards are given to the first and second place teams, semifinalists, best briefs for each party, best oralist in the preliminary rounds, and best oralist in the final round.

Each team may be comprised of two or three students.  Each team will write one brief, representing the party of its choice.  Should your school enter two teams, space permitting, each team may not write a brief for the same side.  Each team will argue both sides during oral argument.  The problem and the rules governing the competition will be distributed to all participants by Friday, February 8, 2008.  The briefs must be RECEIVED at Seton Hall by Friday, March 7, 2008.

We will accept thirty-two teams on a first-come-first-served basis. Please be advised that due to the overwhelming response to the competition, the 2008 competition will permit the registration of only one team per school (and schools with an interest in sending two teams will be placed on the waiting list and entered if space is available).  If your school is interested in sending two teams, please note that on the enclosed entry form.  The entry fee for each team is $500.  Schools will be invited to participate in the order in which the entry forms are received.  Your team may complete the online entry form.  We will then hold a spot for your team until December 15, 2007 in order for your processing of the entry fee.  If we have not received your entry fee, and have not heard from you concerning the status of the check, we will then invite wait-listed teams to participate.

Please address all correspondence to:          

Professor Jodi Anne Hudson
Director, Interscholastic Moot Court Board
The Gibbons Competition
Seton Hall University School of Law
One Newark Center
Newark, NJ 07102-5210

For questions concerning the Competition, kindly contact Professor Jodi Anne Hudson at mootcourt@shu.edu
or at (973) 642-8953.