Chief Justice to Judge Moot Court Debate on ‘Choose Life’ Plates

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will judge a moot court competition at the University of Florida’s law school in Gainesville.

The students will discuss First Amendment issues raised by “Choose Life” license plates, the National Law Journal reports. The competition will be held Sept. 5.

Four finalists will brief the hypothetical case and then argue for and against their positions. Other judges will be Peter Fay, Rosemary Barkett and Susan Black of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, all Florida law grads.

Law school spokeswoman Debbie Amirin told the Gainesville Sun that the chief justice’s appearance is a first. “This is the first time in history we’ve had a U.S. Supreme Court justice judging [the competition]—and here we have the chief justice, no less,” she said.

Roberts also judged a moot court competition at Columbia Law School last April.