The Supreme Court of Georgia, Court of Appeals of Georgia, and Georgia State-wide Business Court will host the final round of the Southern Region of the National Black Law Students Association’s Thurgood Marshall Moot Court and Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial competitions at the Nathan Deal Judicial Center in downtown Atlanta on Feb. 26.
Justice Verda M. Colvin, who served on the Court of Appeals before being appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021, led the coordination of the courts’ involvement in hosting and judging the final rounds of the moot court and mock trial competitions.
“It’s nice to be a part of something in a space that really gives aspiring young lawyers the feeling that they are moving into their careers,” Justice Colvin said. “I hope that being in the halls of the highest courts of our state gives these students confidence as they put in the work and advocate for their positions.”
The mission of the National Black Law Students Association, or NBLSA, is “to increase the number of culturally responsible Black and minority attorneys who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.” The Southern Region of NBLSA was established in 1971 and has more than 40 chapters and 1,700 law student members in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The moot court and mock trial competitions are part of the region’s 51st annual convention and career fair.
Justice Colvin was a member of NBLSA while a law student at the University of Georgia, and she said she values the experience these competitions provide students. She also noted this will be the first time that a moot court or mock trial competition has taken place inside the Nathan Deal Judicial Center—the first state building dedicated solely to Georgia’s judiciary—which opened in December 2019.
The conference is expected to draw 250 participants, including up to 70 moot court and mock trial competitors. The final round of the moot court competition will include the top four teams and will be held in the Supreme Court Courtroom, while the mock trial competition will include the top two teams and will be held in the Court of Appeals Courtroom. The winning teams from both competitions will go on to compete in national contests.
SRBLSA Chair J. Chad Capers, a third-year law student at Mercer University, said competitors have been working since October on their briefs and arguments.
“The purpose of these competitions is to give our members the opportunity to practice the skills they have been learning in law school,” he said. “With the regional conference being held in Atlanta this year, there is no better place to have the final round of these competitions than the Nathan Deal Judicial Center. This is a rare opportunity for students to step into the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals and argue their cases.”
The experience is also an opportunity for appellate jurists to mentor law students, Justice Colvin said.
“We want to show them that we aren’t lofty people sitting in an unreachable place,” she said. “Instead, we will be giving guidance and advice and helping shape those who will follow us into the judiciary.”
Justice Colvin will serve as a moot court competition judge, along with Court of Appeals Judges Clyde L. Reese and Andrew Pinson. (Judge Pinson was recently named by Gov. Brian Kemp as an appointee to the Supreme Court and will take the seat vacated by Chief Justice David E. Nahmias following his planned departure on July 17.) State-wide Business Court Judge Walt Davis will serve as the trial judge for the mock trial competition.
On the day before the final round of competitions, Justice Colvin will join former Chief Justice Harold D. Melton and other Black Georgia judges for a conversation at the convention about their legal careers.