Wabash College - Class of 1991

So I mentioned that classmate Tom Fisher, the State of Indiana's first Solicitor General, was present at this year's Moot Court competition at Wabash. Well, I sent a quick e-mail asking him what he thought about the competition that debated the very issue that he will be arguing before the High Court very soon. Here's what he wrote me:

Judging the semi-final round has become something of a tradition for me. Scott Himsel ‘85 is kind enough to ask me back every year to help grill the students hard in preparation for the finals. This year, I was also able to help take the program to a new level by inviting my old boss, Seventh Circuit Judge Michael Kanne, to participate in the finals. Unfortunately other obligations kept me from attending the finals, but I saw Judge Kanne today, and he was very impressed with the finalists.

As it happens, this is not the first time the Moot Court program has used a case that I have been involved with in real life. Years ago, the students argued the Indianapolis road block case, and I was fortunate enough to help write the City’s U.S. Supreme Court brief in that case. Last year, they did the Indiana House prayer case; I tried that case in real life. In a reversal of roles, in my first year judging the semi-final round, the students argued a Ten Commandments display case; a couple years later I became involved defending a Ten Commandments display proposed for the Indiana State House, and then later wrote a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief defending Texas’ State House Ten Commandments display.

But this is the first time the students argued a case that I am actually preparing to argue myself in the U.S. Supreme Court, so this was a pretty special year for Wabash moot court in my view—though if you ask the students they might have preferred that I knew less about the issue! During a break at the semi-final round, Matt Griffith ‘89 asked whether any of the students were making points that I found helpful. And trite as it may sound, it really is amazing how much you can learn from a bunch of really smart young guys who don’t know much except how to think critically on their feet. The students who did well were able to handle all the obvious questions and forced all of us judges to dig deeper for more challenging issues in the case.

That is exactly what I will be spending the next 2-3 months doing anyway, so this was indeed a valuable experience for me in that regard. Plus, the great thing about doing Moot Court with college students is that they not only think outside the box, they don’t even know where the sides of the box are, or that there even is a box. One student the other night offered a theory that turned on whether a voting regulation was “active” or “passive.” I’m still not entirely certain what he meant, but he sure got me thinking about my case in a way that had never occurred to me before.

Otherwise, everything is great. I’m just trying to clear the deck for the Voter ID case. Our brief is due December 3, and the argument will probably be January 7, 8 or 9, but possibly the week after that. We have another case pending in the Supreme Court at the cert. stage where we are the petitioners. The question is whether a mentally impaired criminal defendant who has twice been declared incompetent to stand trial must be allowed to represent himself once he regains competency. As a Joseph Heller fan, you no doubt appreciate the Catch-22 quality to this: if he wants to represent himself, surely he must still be legally incompetent! Anyway, we should find out whether the Court will take that case in December.

For those who want to follow the progress of his case, it's been combined as Crawford v. Marion County Elec. Bd. and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita. We'll be sure to post updates when Tom argues the case. (And yes, the Rokita is none other than Todd Rokita '92, Indiana's Secretary of State.)

Sorry. I had to dust off that old headline from our Bachelor days. The brainchild of Matt Griffith '89, the 14th Annual Moot Court Competition took place this week. (story) Though I'm not a lawyer--nor do I play one on TV for that matter--I come from a law family. From pure osmosis, I grew up with a deep appreciation of the law and the legal profession. So when I was invited to watch the finals of this year's competition, I made the trip.

For all Wabash does, Moot Court is a perfect synergy of students, community, faculty, and alumni. Put on by the Rhetoric (nee Speech) Department and the Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men, Moot Court showcases the wonderful ability of our students to think critically on their feet. A staple of law schools moot courts are rare in the undergraduate realm, and this year, 25 students (including two freshmen) tested their oratory and logic skills under a barrage of questioning from top lawyers and judges.

Each year, alumnus Rick Pitts '83 writes up the "problem" as it is called. This year's is particularly apt: Does a state law requiring registered voters to present a photo ID before they cast their ballots infringe on an individual's Constitutional right to vote? It's apt because classmate Tom Fisher will argue that very issue before the U.S. Supreme Court in a few months. (See separate post.)

Tom was present for the preliminary rounds, grilling our young Wabash lads. This year's top advocate, sophomore Nicholas Maraman, remarked, "He was a dog. He wouldn’t stop bombarding us with questions."

(Pictured: Senior Matt Vest argues on behalf of the respondents.)

These days, the Internet is rife with what's called "social networking" Web sites. Everything seems to have a component where you deposit your info to connect with someone. Personally, I don't have much need for letting others know what's on my Netflix queue or filling out a bunch of info about me for others to see what I like on Amazon or eBay. My MySpace page remains virtually blank and friendless. And I'm too busy with my first life to get into SecondLife.

Face it, I'm just not a joiner in the virtual world.

A while ago a friend of a friend of mine invited me to join LinkedIn. It's a networking site for professionals to find clients, scout prospects, explore job opportunities, and...well...network. At the time, I was looking for a job, so I signed up, filled out some cursory information, and pretty much forgot about it. I then did the "other" kind of networking.

Lately, though, I started receiving a growing number of invites to my e-mail. So I checked it out again. After closer examination, I found it a well-organized site with a growing number of contacts. You have to have direct or secondary contact with someone before you can look at their profile. It's not some over-advertised waste of time like classmates.com that only seems to serve as a platform for e-marketing. I've had a couple of friends swear by it, so here's my profile. If I haven't invited you already, join in.

For those of you living and working in the Indianapolis area, you're invited to participate in a networking event for Wabash Students. The Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men and the Schroeder Center for Career Development are hosting the event that will take place at Barnes & Thornburg (address, map) on November 6 from 6:30 to 8:30. I'm told that more than 40 students have already signed up.

The event provides a forum for students to interact with the participating alumni and learn about their career field, their specific company, and their career path. If you'd like to participate, contact Scott Crawford in Career Services or Dave Reed '89.

Yup. Even if the leaves have been slow to turn and the nip is not yet in the air this year, the surest sign of fall is availability of Monon Bell tickets. They just arrived in the Bookstore. You can purchase them online here.

Our intrepid gridders have gone undefeated so far with a chance to run the table for a playoff berth. But, as always, there's DePauw, waiting for us.

The Bell Game is in Greendingle this year, so if can't stomach a trip to Blackstock Stadium, the two rivals are co-hosting dozens of Telecast Parties across the country. At last count Wabash had 52 lined up with DePauw, but Wabash hosts are still needed in the following cities:

• Boise, ID
• Detroit, MI
  
• Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Kalamazoo, MI

• Ann Arbor, MI
• South Padre Island, TX
• Vail, CO

Leave it to the alumni to pick up the slack from the students who were on Fall Break. For as big a rivalry as Witt is becoming, I was shocked by their sparse crowd. Check out ours...

Coach Creighton was also impressed and appreciative.

So you want to relive the Little Giants' impressive win over conference rival Wittenberg Tigers on Saturday or you just can't get enough of Wabash football. Never fear. Indy-area alumni helped get the game on local TV. If you're in these areas, you can watch the game's rebroadcast:

Skytrak Weather Network : Saturday 10/20 8pm
HomeTown 19 Hamilton County: Tuesday 10/16 11, 3 & 7pm
HomeTown 19 Tipton County: Tuesday, Time TBA
WJTS Jasper: Tuesday 8pm.
Indiana9 in Clarksville
Louisville Sat 10/20 1pm

There is a chance that Jasper and Lafayette stations will pick up the game also.
If you're out of the area and want to watch on the Net, go to HTV19.com on Tuesday. Be advised:Log on early because there are limited slots. So if you can't see anything, they are probably at capacity.

The early reports show a tremendous support of the third installment of WABASH Day over this past weekend. Like all new traditions, WABASH Day has certainly grown since its inception by Jon Pactor '71 and the NAWM. Here's the story. Approximately 39 projects took place all across the country, from "the gloomy shade of the northern pine to the light of the southern seas." Some 342 alumni, families, and friends participated, up 35% over last year.

And with it, these classmates were there, helping out:
Bill McClure in Houston
Luke Messer in Shelbyville
Roland Morin in South Bend
Jacob Schultheis and Eric Strehl in Evansville
Hugh Vandivier in Indianapolis

Just as this event grows, we'd like to see even more participation from the Class of '91 next year.

Top: Jon Pactor '71 and Mark Shreve '04 get corny at Second Helpings in Indianapolis.
Middle: Bill McLure (bottom left) helps out do some landscaping with Houston alumni at Herman Memorial Park.
Bottom: Roland Morin (back row, third from left) worked with the St. Joseph Valley Association of Wabash Men to help out at the Families First Center in South Bend.

Phase I of the Delt house renovation is complete, and they have a nice, new courtyard along the Crawford St. side.