Drake’s ABA Moot Court Competition

Drake Law School’s ABA NAAC (National Appellate Advocacy Competition) Moot Court team competed in February in the regional competition that took place in Boston at the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Lamson Dugan & Murray law clerk Kelsey Schott was a member of the team. The team received their problem in November, submitted their brief in early January, and prepared for competition through January and February. Local attorneys and judges from Des Moines are invited to “moot” the team in order to prepare for competition. LDM Attorney Ted Appel volunteered as a judge for the team’s practice and provided insightful feedback for how best to structure arguments and answers.There were two issues on appeal in this year’s problem. The first was a civil procedure question pertaining to “snap removal” and the second was whether a state law right of publicity claim qualifies for the federal Communications Decency Act’s intellectual property carveout.The problem itself was about a local newscaster, Frank O’Brien, who participated in a pie eating contest. A photo of Mr. O’Brien eagerly waiting to eat his pie became a viral internet meme called “Hungry Fella” which various online advertisers used without O’Brien’s consent on the social media platform “YourHood.” Mr. O’Brien gave YourHood notice to take down the advertisements as his publicity was violated under a state right of publicity law, and after YourHood refused, Mr. O’Brien filed suit in the defendant’s home state. Within hours of the suit being filed, before service could be completed, YourHood had removed the case to federal court through a process known as snap removal. In federal court YourHood had immunity against the claim under the Communication Decency Act unless the state’s right of publicity law qualified for the Act’s intellectual property carveout.The Drake ABA Moot Court team is coached by Drake Law alum Thomas Bakke, Assistant Iowa Attorney General in the Criminal Justice Division.