Check here for questions from competitors and answers from the competition co-chairs, Deborah Witham and Asha Smith. Questions and answers to be posted within 48 hours of receipt.

Q. What time is the paper due?

A. As no specific time is stated in the rules, papers must be received electronically by 11:59pm(EST) on June 7, 2006 in order to be considered timely.

Q. What do you mean in your rules by including "opinions below, const. prov. and statutes involved"?

A. "Opinions below" means the decision of any lower trial court. For example, the Supreme Court may grant certiorari in a case, thus any decisions reached by any courts prior to the Supreme Court would constitute "opinions below."

"Constitutional provision" means any article, amendment or section of the US Constitution that are mentioned or cited in the judicial opinions of each court.

"Statute involved" means any statute mentioned or cited in the judicial opinions of each court.

Q. Are we allowed to rephrase the proposed certiorari questions?

A. You may rephrase the proposed certiorari questions to address the facts of the case as you see fit.

Q. Can we feel free to phrase the certiorari questions as our client’s action demands?

A. You should feel free to phrase the certiorari questions as your client's action demands.

Q. Can we cite to the 14th Amendment? (4th and 6th Amendments are made applicable to the states only by the 14th)

A. It is unnecessary to cite to the 14th Amendment.  It is a well recognized legal concept that the 14th Amendment mandates the application of the articles and amendments of the US Constitution to the states. (In addition, citing to the 14th Amendment is outside the scope of the permitted cases/statutes for the competition).

Q. How do we cite to the decision of the Supreme Court of Wythe? (There are no pages and no citation, other than the case number).

A. Competitors should use the following cites when referring to the case in the competition problem:

Opinion and Order of Wythe Criminal Court:
Wythe v. William Rogers, 2003 Wythe Misc. LEXIS 2020 (Wythe Crim. Ct., 2003)

Opinion and Order of Wythe Supreme Court:
Rogers v. Wythe, 2004 Wythe LEXIS 4040 (Wythe, 2004)

US Supreme Court - Rogers’ Petition for Certiorari granted:
Rogers v. Wythe, cert. granted, 50 U.S.L.W. 8080 (U.S. June 24, 2005) (No. 05-0322)

(Note: Most cases heard by the Supreme Court will appear in the official reporter, however at this stage, it is more likely the case would appear in this weekly publication of cases on the Supreme Court docket).

Q. Competition Rules § 4 states that the page limit for the brief is 40 pages, while § 17 Penalties mentions 30. What is the correct page limit for the brief?

A. The correct page limit for the brief is 40 pages as stated in Rule §4.

Q. Competition Rules § 7 states that briefs should be e-mailed, while § 4 and § 5 talks about fastening the brief at the left hand margin and attaching colored cover sheets.  Should we disregard § 4 and § 5 in this respect?

A.  Briefs are to be served electronically. Disregard Rules §4 and § 5 with respect to "fastening the brief at the left hand margin and attaching colored cover sheets."