The Williams College political science department will host a moot court argument presided over by four federal circuit court judges. Students will argue the hypothetical case of whether sentencing juvenile offenders to life without parole for non-homicide crimes constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. This issue is currently awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court. The moot court will allow students to gain experience arguing a real issue before eminent judges and examine an important legal matter regarding juvenile sentencing.

1. communications.williams.edu
http://communications.williams.edu/news-releases/williams-college-welcomes-eminent-federal-circuit-judges-to-moot-court-argument-
thursday-feb-11/
Williams College Welcomes Eminent Federal Circuit Judges to
Moot Court Argument, Thursday, Feb. 11
Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email:
Noelle.Lemoine@williams.edu
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 8, 2010 — The Williams College political science department will hold a United States
Supreme Court moot court argument titled “Should Juvenile Offenders Be Sentenced to Life without Parole?” on
Thursday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. in Griffin Hall, room 3. The event is free and open to the public.
Presiding over the moot court will be Hon. Peter W. Hall, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit;
Jeffrey R. Howard, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton ’83, Judge of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Hon. Stephen R. Reinhardt, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit.
The moot court will examine an issue that is awaiting an opinion from the United States Supreme Court: whether a
sentence of life imprisonment without parole for juvenile offenders convicted of non-homicide crimes violates the
Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The United States is the only country in the world in which juveniles can be sentenced to life imprisonment without
parole. According to estimates, 2,600 juveniles were serving such sentences as of May 2009.
Williams College students will argue this issue as presented in the companion cases of Graham v. Florida and
Sullivan v. Florida. Terrance Graham was 17 years old in 2004 when he was convicted of a probation violation
following a felony robbery the previous year. Joe Sullivan was 13 years old in 1989 when he was convicted of sexual
battery.
Additionally, Florida contends that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction over the Sullivan petition due to state
procedural law limiting the duration within which a post-conviction motion can be filed.
In 2005, the Supreme Court held in Roper v. Simmons that it is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty for
crimes committed while under the age of 18. The two-step test applied in the ruling comprised: the “national
consensus” position, that capital punishment for juvenile offenders was increasingly rare; and the “evolving standards
of decency” test, that the death penalty was disproportionate due to juveniles’ undeveloped decision-making capacity
and potential for rehabilitation.
On Nov. 9, 2009, Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida argued before the United States Supreme Court that the
ruling in Roper v. Simmons should be extended beyond capital punishment to include life sentences without the
possibility of parole. The court has yet to issue an opinion on this case.
The undergraduates acting as prosecution and defense counsel were recently students in a Winter Study course
titled “The Federal Bench.” The course was taught by Barbara O’Connor and David Kirby of O’Connor and Kirby,
P.C. in Bennington, Vt.
O’Connor and Kirby will assist in the moot court argument. O’Connor was formerly first assistant federal public
defender in the District of Vermont, and supervisor and assistant federal public defender in the Central District of
California. Kirby was formerly a U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont.

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For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway entrance to the Security
Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the Thompson Memorial Chapel, or call the Office of
Public Affairs (413) 597-4277. The map can also be found on the web at www.williams.edu/home/campusmap/
Event: Yue-Yi
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