On November 11 and 12, 2005 the Southern Illinois University School of Law hosted the 14th annual National Health Law Moot Court Competition. Thirty teams of second and third year law students representing twenty law schools from around the country entered the Competition which is sponsored each year by the Southern Illinois University School of Law’s Center for Health Law and Policy, as well as the School of Medicine’s Department of Medical Humanities, the American College of Legal Medicine, and the American College of Legal Medicine Foundation. In this year’s Competition students argued a hypothetical case before the United States Supreme Court involving a right to die issue derived from the Terri Schiavo case. It was written by Professor Kathy Cerminara of Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad Law

The team of Bryan Harrington and Jason Lile of the University of Tulsa College of Law placed first in the Competition. Their school will receive a $1,000 scholarship grant from the American College of Legal Medicine Foundation. Second place was won by the other team representing the University of Tulsa including Jamiee Reed and Wendy Higgins. The school will receive an additional $750 scholarship grant from the ACLM Foundation in recognition of this team’s performance.

The Indiana University-Indianapolis School of Law’s team consisting of Lisa Gethers and Vanessa Voight won third place in the Competition and will receive a $500 scholarship grant provided by the ACLM Foundation.Vanessa Voight also was chosen as the Best Preliminary Round Oralist and will be awarded $250 from the SIU Center for Health Law and Policy. Jason Lile of Tulsa received Best Overall Oralist honors in the Competition. He will receive a $500 scholarship from the ACLM Foundation.

The team of Cavan Doyle and Christine Wiles, from Loyola University-Chicago School of Law, submitted the runner-up Best Brief for which a $250 scholarship grant is awarded by the SIU School of Law’s Center for Health Law and Policy. The team recognized for writing the Best Brief submitted by the participating schools included Hunter Tzovarras and Amanda Moore from Quinnipiac University School of Law. They will receive a $500 scholarship grant for their work from the ACLM Foundation.

The judges for the final round of the Competition included Judge David R. Herndon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Dr. Philip A. Shelton, MD, JD of Tarpon Springs, Florida, President of the American College of Legal Medicine, and Professor Kathy Cerminara.

A panel from the American College of Legal Medicine judged the written briefs submitted by the students participating in the Competition: Frank Battaglia, MD, JD, Francois Blaudeau, MD, JD, Charles Ellington, MD, JD, Bernard Friedland, BchD, MSc, JD, Kent Harshbarger, MD, JD, Alan Hoffman, JD, Charles Hollen, MD, JD, Sana Loue, JD, PhD, MPH, and Andrew Newman, MD, JD, LLM, FCLM.

The Competition was organized by W. Eugene Basanta, Professor of Law at the Southern Illinois University School of Law and a Professor in the Department of Medical Humanities at the School of Medicine and by Professor Cheryl Anderson of the SIU School of Law who directs the School’s moot court program. Member of the SIU School of Law’s Moot Court Board, including Chief Justice Jason Caraway and Associate Justice Nate Strickler, ran this year’s Competition

At the Awards Reception held on Saturday evening following the Competition, the sponsors, the Southern Illinois University School of Law, the School of Medicine, Department of Medical Humanities, and the American College of Legal Medicine, announced that they will again sponsor the National Health Law Moot Court Competition in 2006. The 2006 Competition is tentatively scheduled for November 10 and 11, 2006.

Photos available upon request. For further information contact W. Eugene Basanta, Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University School of Law, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-6804, (618) 453-8748; basanta@siu.edu