Former Justice Powell Will Judge Law School Moot Court Contest

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr., who graduated from the Law School in 1932, will return to his alma mater today to serve as the chief judge in the Law School's 77th Annual Final Argument, popularly known as the "moot court."

Powell, who retired from the Supreme Court last spring and was replaced by Anthony M. Kennedy, will also deliver a brief speech and answer questions at a 2:00 p.m. session in the Law School's Ames Courtroom. The moot court will begin at 7:45 p.m.

The Final Argument is the culmination of a year-long competition beginning with 20 teams, each consisting of six law students. Today, the two finalist teams argue their cases in a format that resembles the Supreme Court, said Rocky Robbins, chairperson of the moot court competition.

Supreme Court justices have judged the moot court "for as long as I can remember," Robbins said. Recent justice to come to Harvard include Antonin J. Scalia HLS '60, Harry A. Blackmun '29, Law School graduate of 1932, and William H. Rehnquist, who earned a master's degree at Harvard in 1950.

The students will argue the case of Samuel Robertson vs. The United States of America, an actual case which was tried before the Supreme Court on October 5, 1988, Robbins said. The case involves the constitutionality of federal sentencing guidelines, he said.

Third-year law students Meir Feder and Richard Rockman will argue the petitioner's case, and their classmates Robert Miller and Mark D. Nielson will respond.

In addition to Powell, the Hon. Patricia M. Wald, chief judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Hon. Juan R. Torruella, a First Circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, will judge the court. The judges may interrupt the presentation to question the students, Robbins said.

Powell is regarded as a moderate justice who frequently cast the decisive vote in cases that divided the high court along ideological lines.

"He is the most decent, fair person I think I have ever met," said Professor of Law Richard H. Fallon, who clerked under Powell.

"I have enormous respect for the way in which he conducts his life and the way in which he handles his judicial duties. I think he's about as impressive as anybody could be," Fallon said.

Fallon said that he did not expect Powell to ask particularly harsh questions. "I'm not sure how aggressive a questioner he will be, although that would not reflect a lack of interest or preparedness. It's just not in the character of the man [to ask aggressive questions]," he said.