Monday, December 9, 2013

ASL Student Profile: Kenyatta Thorpe



Kenyatta Thorpe is an energetic third-year student with a bevy of accomplishments already under her belt.  Before coming to ASL, the Fitzgerald, Georgia, native excelled in track and field, even competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics while attending college.  However, Kenyatta decided that graduating college and Olympic glory were not enough; she decided that she wanted to pursue her Juris Doctorate degree.

The small town girl has big dreams of returning to her hometown and serving her community as a prosecutor. “There are a lot of people with drug problems in my town. I want to be able to do something about it,” says Kenyatta.

In the meanwhile, she participates in and leads many organizations on campus, including BLSA, Barbri, and CASA. She also works as a Counselor in the ASL Admissions Office. However, Kenyatta somehow manages to find time for coaching the cheerleading and track teams at Mountain Mission School, baking, crocheting, and spending time with her husband, Anthony.

 
 

Monday, December 2, 2013

Thanksgiving and Trimming the Christmas Tree at ASL












Josh Smith to visit ASL Professor Stewart Harris' First Amendment Seminar at Emory & Henry College

     
 Josh Smith, anchor at WJHL-TV, the CBS affiliate in Johnson City, Tennessee, will visit Emory & Henry College on Tuesday evening, December 3, at 7:00 PM. Mr. Smith will join Professor Teresa Keller, Chair of the Mass Communications Department at Emory & Henry, for a discussion of the Speech and Press Clauses of the First Amendment and their importance in the modern media landscape.

The discussion will take place in Room 239 of McGlothlin-Street Hall, during the regular class meeting of Professor Stewart Harris’s First Amendment Seminar. Stewart Harris teaches Constitutional Law at the Appalachian School of Law and is currently also serving as the Bays Blackwell Lecturer in Residence at Emory & Henry.


The public is invited to this event, and admission is free, although seating is limited. For more information, please call Angela Brink at 276-944-6168.




Appalachian School of Law Moot Court Board Holds Intra-School Competition

 
 
(2013 Finalists L-R: Joshua Kinser, Caitlin Flanagan-Morgan, Pedro Gonzalez, Rosalia Fiorello, Christopher Eads, Kayla Vanover, Shonda Wells, Gregory Norris)


The Appalachian School of Law Moot Court Board is proud to announce the results from the Fall 2013 Intra-School Moot Court Competition, an annual event that highlights the top oral advocates from their respective Appellate Advocacy courses.

Appellate Advocacy is a challenging, but rewarding, class for ASL students.  The class presents students with a realistic case and fictional clients to represent on appeal.  Over the course of one semester, students research and compile appellate briefs for both the appellant and appellee.  The students then represent one of the parties at oral arguments before a panel of judges.  At the conclusion of oral arguments, the professors select the top eight students to compete for the school’s top honors.

This year represents an important milestone in the competition’s history and future.  In the past, the Appellate Advocacy classes considered one issue, and judges selected one champion.  This year, however, one section explored a case replete with natural resources law, while the other section considered an employment law case.  This presented a new and realistic challenge for both students and professors.  After a series of excellent arguments, the professors selected four students from the natural resources section and four students from the employment law section to face off in the intra-school competition.  Each of the eight finalists put forth a valiant effort and represented ASL at a high level.  While the decision was difficult, a distinguished panel of seven judges heard their arguments and selected a champion from each section.
The results are as follows:

2013 Finalists:
 
Christopher Eads, Rosalia Fiorello, Pedro Gonzalez, Joshua Kinser, Caitlin Flanagan-Morgan, Gregory Norris, Kayla Vanover, Shonda Wells
 

2013 Employment Law Winner: 

Pedro Gonzalez

2013 Environmental Law Winner:

 Kayla Vanover

            Additionally, Appalachian School of Law and the Moot Court Board would like to extend a special thanks to all of the judges who spent their time and effort presiding over the Appellate Advocacy class arguments and the intra-school competition.  Particularly, we would like to thank: 

Patrick Baker, Mark “Buzz” Bellville, Ryan  Bostic, Janie Castle, Dean Charlie Condon, Honorable Judge David A. Faber, Ryan Gilligan, Priscilla Harris, Maryann Herman, Kendall Isaac, Danielle Kiser, Michael Loudenslager, Douglas McKechnie, Alan Oxford, Stephen Parsons, Jennifer Shaver, Ben Street

Story by Amanda Allen Coop
Photos courtesy of Sabrina Mullins