The School of Criminal Justice
Moot Court Team

Maneksha and Krystel Momplaisir. The UAlbany teams qualified for the national (invitation only) tournament based on their performance at the Eastern Regional of the AMCA tournament conducted in December at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, MA.

The tournament centered around the appeal of a hypothetical case involving the federal government's warrantless interception and monitoring of e-mail communications among American citizens suspected of terrorism. The case presented issues involving the limits of Presidential authority under Congressional enactments as well as Article II of the U.S. Constitution, and also the reasonabless of the surveillance under the 4th Amendment. All teams were required to argue both sides of the case. Sixty-four teams from colleges and universities representing six regionals and scores of institutions from across the country participated in the tournament. Each of the teams engaged in three rounds of argument on the first day of the tournament, and the 32 teams with the best won-loss records and highest point totals advanced to the second round of the competition.

Based on their first-day performances, two of the three UAlbany teams advanced to the second day's single-elimination round of arguments: Bain-Lucey and Chamberlain, and Bresee and Keller. Bresee and Keller were defeated in the round of 32 by a team that advanced to the tournament's final round. Bain-Lucey and Chamberlain won their first two rounds of argument on Saturday to advance to the national quarterfinals, or the "Elite Eight," before being bested by another team. By virtue of their performance in the national tournament, both Alison Bain-Lucey and Patrick Chamberlain were named AMCA moot court All-Americans. This was the second consecutive year Bain-Lucey received this designation, making her a rare two-time All-American.

Moot Court All-Americans Alison Bain-Lucey and Patrick Chamberlain

Former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft was a special guest at the AMCA national tournament and he met and personally congratulated each of the participating teams.

The UAlbany moot court team was able to participate in both the regional and national moot court tournaments because of the generous financial support provided by the UAlbany Alumni Association and the UAlbany School of Criminal Justice. The team was coached by Distinguished Teaching Professor James Acker, of the School of Criminal Justice, and two School of Criminal Justice graduate students: Matthew Laroche (a former participant on the UAlbany moot court team and recipient of All-American honors for his performance in last year's national tournament), and Brent Lovett.

The UAlbany team with former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Regent Law School Dean Jeffrey A. Brauch, and UAlbany Criminal Justice Professor James Acker.