Lieutenant Governor Gregory R. Francis gave students from high schools across the territory participating in the Fourteenth Annual Moot Court Competition hearty words of advice when he addressed them at the opening ceremony on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands on St. Croix.

Lt. Governor Francis called the competition a great “arena for interscholastic and friendly rivalry.”

“I appreciate what the Moot Court has become for our schools, teachers and students,” Lt. Governor Francis said. “It is an opportunity to showcase mental athletics, particularly the skill that goes into researching and crafting a logical argument and the ability to defend that position before a critical audience.”

He commended the organizers of the first moot court for their “foresight,” hailing the competition’s ability to improve the public speaking skills of our students.

“Often, we overlook the importance of communication skills, especially today when many act as if the ease of electronic communication renders the ability to be articulate an obsolete or dying art,” Lt. Governor Francis stated.

He thanked the parents and teachers in the audience for their patience and dedication working with the students over the past months as they prepared for the competition. And finally, he encouraged the students to “have fun” as he lauded their courage to make persuasive arguments before seasoned justices.

“I am looking forward to this showdown between creative and great minds, logical thinkers and passionate speakers,” Lt. Governor Francis concluded. “I am hopeful that the weeks and months spent preparing for this Moot Court Competition has been an eye-opening experience for our competitors, not only by showing them what they are capable of doing, but of what they can challenge themselves to achieve.”

Schools competing in the two-day Moot Court Competition from St. Thomas are All Saints Cathedral School, Charlotte Amalie High School, Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, St. Thomas-St. John Seventh Day Adventist School, and St. Peter and Paul High School. From St. Croix, high schools participating were Free Will Baptist Christian School, St. Croix Educational Complex, St. Croix Seventh Day Adventist School and St. Joseph High School.

The students will present arguments on the constitutionality of a fictional Virgin Islands high school to ban clothing with offensive messages and whether that impedes a student’s right to freedom of speech.