Senate Resolution 166

PAG LIN

  1  1                SENATE RESOLUTION NO. ___
  1  2                       BY  REDFERN
  1  3 A Resolution honoring the founding and growth of the
  1  4    American Mock Trial Association.
  1  5    WHEREAS, in 1982, Richard Calkins, then dean of
  1  6 Drake University Law School, Gene Reifsnider, and Dan
  1  7 Stamatelos began to explore the idea of bringing the
  1  8 experience of mock trial competition to Iowa high
  1  9 school students; and
  1 10    WHEREAS, in 1983, the Iowa Supreme Court, Drake Law
  1 11 School, and the Young Lawyers Division of the Iowa Bar
  1 12 Association joined together to create Iowa's first
  1 13 high school mock trial tournament, judged by volunteer
  1 14 lawyers from around the state; and
  1 15    WHEREAS, in 1985, this tournament had grown to
  1 16 include both high school and middle school teams with
  1 17 regional competitions culminating in a state
  1 18 championship tournament; and
  1 19    WHEREAS, in 1985, Mr. Calkins, Mr. Reifsnider, and
  1 20 Mr. Stamatelos founded the American Mock Trial
  1 21 Association and the first national intercollegiate
  1 22 mock trial tournament was held in that same year; and
  1 23    WHEREAS, Mr. Calkins has served as president of
  1 24 that organization since its founding and will become
  1 25 president=emeritus in 2004; and
  1 26    WHEREAS, in the 20 years since its founding, the
  1 27 American Mock Trial Association has seen explosive
  1 28 growth in new programs and team participation, with
  1 29 267 colleges and universities fielding 507 teams for
  1 30 the 2003=2004 academic year, with almost 60 events
  2  1 sanctioned each season and a national championship
  2  2 tournament held in Des Moines; and
  2  3    WHEREAS, the lawyers, court system, and law schools
  2  4 and universities of Iowa combine their resources and
  2  5 efforts in ongoing support for the association and the
  2  6 tournament; and
  2  7    WHEREAS, the American Mock Trial Association now
  2  8 hosts the largest nonathletic tournament event in the
  2  9 United States; NOW THEREFORE,
  2 10    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate
  2 11 honors the ongoing role of the American Mock Trial
  2 12 Association; first, in offering the experience of mock
  2 13 trial practice to undergraduate students; and second,
  2 14 for the service the association provides to the legal
  2 15 profession by fostering in America's students an
  2 16 interest in advocacy and the law; and
  2 17    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate, on behalf
  2 18 of all Iowans, reaffirms the state's commitment to
  2 19 support the association and foster its future growth.
  2 20 LSB 7080SS 80
  2 21 jr/sh/8.1