By Lee Kolber '06
Senior Staff Writer

Last Friday and Saturday, four teams battled over issues of executive power, wiretapping, torture by foreign governments, and their Fourth and Fifth Amendment implications in the Lile Moot Court Semifinals.

On Friday night in Caplin Auditorium, Paul Rugani and Scott Tenley represented Xavier Osman, a fictional defendant/petitioner who confessed to acts of terrorism while in Saudi custody. Chris Kavanaugh and Michael Buchwald represented the appellee, the United States. Both sides faced a hot bench composed of the Honorable Raymond A. Jackson, E.D.Va., the Honorable Barbara M. G. Lynn, N.D. Tx., and the Honorable Inez Smith Reid, D.C.C.A. After deliberations, the panel announced the appellants as the winners.

On Saturday afternoon, Kristen Riemenschneider and Jason Stavers competed against Jake Ewart and Jennifer Kies in front of the Honorable William G. Bassler, D.N.J., the Honorable Daniel R. Bouton, Va. Cir., and the Honorable Ellen Segal Huvelle, D.D.C. From the Saturday round, Riemenshcnieder and Stavers moved on to the finals.

Discussing the weekend, A.J. Stephens, the presiding justice for the semifinal and final rounds said, “I was very pleased with all the work the participants put into their arguments. I was wowed by all their performances.”

Tim Johnson, Chief Justice of the Moot Court Board, said that he was very pleased with the quality of the judging. “They were obviously very prepared. They showed up with all sorts of hard questions prepared for the participants.”

Since both teams continuing on to the finals were appellants in the semifinals, one team will have to argue off-brief in the final round. In a coin-toss on Sunday, it was decided that Riemenschneider and Stavers will represent the United States. Final Arguments will be held Saturday afternoon on April 1. The finals judges will be the Honorable Edith Brown Clement of the Fifth Circuit, the Honorable Paul V. Niemeyer of the Fourth Circuit, and the Honorable Kenneth F. Ripple of the Seventh Circuit.