The John Marshall Law School Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law (CITPL) will host the 30th annual International Moot Court Competition, Oct. 27 through 29.
One of the oldest and largest of its kind, this competition brings together students from across the nation and abroad to argue emerging issues in the field. Law students from India, Australia and Cameroon, and from states including Texas, New York and Michigan, will come to John Marshall to compete against each other, arguing the issues before federal and state judges, professors and practitioners.
These students explore the legal conflicts behind a “problem,” which is a case generated by John Marshall students—most of whom contribute to The John Marshall Journal of Computer & Information Law (JCIL). The problem presents issues that strongly mirror real conflicts cropping up in information technology and privacy law today.
This year’s problem involves a former mayor, well-loved by his constituents, who filed suit against a law student who recorded, without permission, information regarding a case the mayor was involved in. When the student published the recording online, the mayor’s words caught national attention and the mayor believes it affected the verdict of his case.
The problem presented in this year’s competition looks at a violation of an eavesdropping statute, tortuous interference with contractual relations claim, and the public disclosure of private facts following a reversal of summary judgment for the defendant, Donnie Dollar, according to Gina M. Spada, program coordinator for CITPL.
The winning briefs will be published in JCIL.
John Marshall was one of the first law schools to offer a focus on information technology and privacy, when the area of study was referred to as “informatics,” and shortly before the term “Internet” was coined.
Professor Emeritus George Trubow organized the program in information technology and privacy law in 1983 because he recognized computers were going to make it easier to store, share and eventually manipulate information raising serious legal issues.
Trubow founded the competition. It was first funded by a grant from the Benton Foundation in 1982, and in 1988 it was permanently endowed by the estate of Carl W. Carlson, a 1933 graduate.