Columbia Law School - Kent Commentaries Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 83 text:

,, 1 9 , ,,.Aa X Stone -f 7WW'60w 'ima ,',1lf1g

Page 82 text:

,.. i BERNARD CHAZEN First Vice Chairman H. DONALD WILSON Second Vice Chairman MOOT Court work in recent years has been marked by a very high rate of student participa- tion, as well as continuous efforts to make the conduct of the appellate arguments more efficient and more realistic. The increase in interest resulted in the addition of seven new courts to the system in July 1946, making a total of fifteen: Andrews, Blackstone, Bramwell, Burdick, Campbell, Cardozo, Crane, Dwight, Hamilton, Holmes, Hughes, Lehman, Marshall, Taft and Temple. A school-wide referendum in November, 1946 re-affirmed the policy of assigning students to courts by impar- tial allotment. About 85W of the student body are now members of a Moot Court. Over the past year an average of 140 students took arguments each semester. The Moot Court Committee, the governing body of the system, was headed in the Win- ter of 1947 by Richard W. Blum. Past Chairmen have included Peter D. Andreoli, in the Winter and Spring terms of 1946-47, and Charles D. Kuhnen, in the Summer of 1947. The activities of the Committee have included shifting from the use of statements of facts to the use of transcripts of actual trial records, developing better procedures for the form of the brief and for grading arguments, and holding dinners for the judges and 'bailiffs on the nights of arguments. The Committee has obtained many prominent judges for the trials, including such members of the bench as the Hon. Stanley H. Fuld, Hon. Bernard L. Shientag and Hon. Simon H. Rifkind. The Harlan Fiske Stone Competition, which was discontinued during the war, was revived in December, 1947. As a result of having the best records of all the courts for the previous two semesters Blackstone and Bramwell were chosen to compete. ln a well presented and closely contested argument held at the House of the Bar Association of the City of New York before a bench consisting of Honorable Robert P. Patterson, former Secretary of War, Honor- able Henry W. Edgerton, Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, Washington, D. C.g and Honorable Charles E. Wyzanski, Jr., Judge of the United States District Court for Massachu- setts, Blackstone Moot Court was declared the winner. Crane Moot Court and Bramwell Moot Court were chosen to participate in the Stone Competition to be held in the spring of 1948. A Moot Court argument was held with the Yale University School of Law in November, 1947, which it is hoped will be the forerunner of similar activities. ln December, 1947 the Faculty decided to award point credit to students who par- ticipate in two Moot Court arguments. At the same time the Faculty decided to pay officers of the Moot Court committee for their work in administering the Moot Court system. The Fac- ulty approved the establishment of a student board to prepare records for use in arguments, act as judges and evaluate Moot Court work. MOOT COURT COMMITTEE Seated: Warren Freedman, Stanley Seigel, H. Donald Wilson, Second Vice Chairman, Richard Blum, Chairmang Bernard Chazen, First Vice Chairman, Richard Valentine, Treasurer, Mason Salisbury, Secretary. Standing: Elmer Maddy, Howard TaubenfeId,aRichard Wierum, Allan J. Parker, Albert l. DaSilva, Roberta Leighton, Joseph Clifford, A. Christie, Robert Powers, Jacob Cohen.

Page 84 text:

THE Student Council is composed of the officers of the various classes and is headed by a chairman and secretary chosen from this group. The Council has regular weekly meetings at which matters of student interest are discussed and appropriate action taken if required. There are two standing committees ap- pointed 'by the chairman from the student body as a whole. The Curriculum Committee works throughout the semester and presents to the Council a report of its work with spe- cific recommendations as to improvements of curriculum and kindred subjects. The Place- ment Committee is charged with maintaining continuous contact with all phases of the placement problem and referring to the Council any suggestions for the assistance of the Law School graduate. Further special committees are appointed as necessary. The Council has felt that it should serve as something more than a clearinghouse for complaints, and has channeled a good share of its efforts into constructive planning for the future of the school. The intention 'has been to promote the interests of both present and future students. No subject n any way affecting these interests has been considered beyond the scope of the board. few! . l l 1947 l Seated: Jack B. Weinstein, Arthur I. Grayson, Chairman Lawrence R. Gould, Secretary Kathryn V. Crean, John K. Bangs, Edwin M. Zimmerman. Standing: Sterling Black, Morton Silberman, John A. Walsh, Martin L. Conrad. Not Pictured: John Stevenson, Edward Toner, Alexander Ormond, John Rochford, Frederick Wolkoff, George lndig, John D, Fitzgerald, Marion Reibstein. THE Legal Survey Group is an organization of second and third year students devoted to research in the field of civil rights. The Group works directly with organizations throughout the country concerned with civil liberties. As a result, the problems selected for study are not abstractly created but in- volve questions of immediate interest and importance, frequently entailing work in the preparation of briefs for litigation already pending in the courts. Such organizations as the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Congress, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People frequently call on the Group for re- search and, during the summer of I947, it prepared reports requested by the President's Committee on Civil Rights. For work with the Group, its members are entitled to one essay credit for each two semesters of work, under the personal super- vision of Prof. Walter Gellhorn, its faculty adviser. Seated: William C. S. Remsen, Reuben R. Linowitz, Chairman Stephen Barker, Jerome Z. Lorber, Irving Schreiber, Donald Wilson. Standing: Howard J. Taubenfeld, Jack Greenberg, Arthur Brooks, Edith L. Bornn, Eugene King, Lucius Woods, David G. Sacks. 80