2019 Case Materials Dear State Champion Teams
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2019 Case Materials Dear State Champion Teams, Congratulations on your advancement to the 2019 National High School Mock Trial Championship! We are excited that you have made it this far and look forward to welcoming you to Athens, Georgia soon. The 2019 National Championship is sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia and its Young Lawyers Division. The Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition has held the statewide mock trial competition for 31 seasons and we are proud to be hosting our third National Championship in Georgia. The Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition’s Subcommittee on the Problem has been authoring original cases for the Georgia competition for many years now and are proud to present to you another original case from this team. The effort was led by our longtime Problem Subcommittee Chair Hon. Michael Barker, Magistrate Court Judge in Chatham County (Savannah), Georgia. Each statement was written by an individual attorney author and the rest of the committee assisted with editing and guidance of the overall set of facts. You can find the list of the Committee on the opening page of the case. For this year’s setting, we wanted to bring together a couple bits of state history, albeit from different eras. First, Georgia was a key battleground late in the Civil War, especially with the Union’s capture of Atlanta, a vital railroad junction. After a brutal military campaign and occupation of the city by Union forces, General William Sherman led his forces out of Atlanta to Savannah on his infamous “March to the Sea,” burning Atlanta in the process in November, 1864. Our second bit of history comes from Athens itself. Athens has long been a home for musical innovation and inspiration, along with many famous venues, seeing many local bands and groups making a name for themselves, including R.E.M., The B-52s, Drive-By Truckers, and Pylon. The Georgia Theatre has an important place in Athens’ musical history, along with other spots like the 40 Watt Club and the Morton Theater. In 2009, the Georgia Theatre suffered a catastrophic fire which gutted the famous venue. With the help of several fundraisers and donations from the music world, the Georgia Theatre was rebuilt and is back to hosting local and national groups several times a week. The purpose of the Championship is to promote an understanding and appreciation of the American judicial system through academic competition. During your time in Athens, you will have the chance to meet many judges, attorneys, state coordinators and staff members who work tirelessly throughout the year to provide this experience in both their state competitions as well as this season’s National Championship. We hope you enjoy your time in Athens and wish you luck as you prepare the case at hand. Kevin Epps Michael Nixon Michael Barker Chair, 2019 Planning Committee 2019 Host Director Chair, Problem Subcommittee Table of Contents Case Style and Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Interpleaders – An Explainer ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Stipulations ................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Witness List ................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Exhibit List ................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Case Question Process ................................................................................................................................... 8 Complaint for Interpleader .................................................................................................................................................... 9 Order Allowing Interpleader ................................................................................................................................................ 19 Hayden Beauregard’s Answer ............................................................................................................................................. 20 Billy/Billie Sherman’s Answer .............................................................................................................................................. 22 Witness Statements - Hayden Beauregard ................................................................................................................................................. 24 - Nolan Clarke ............................................................................................................................................................... 31 - Elijah/Ellie Johnston ................................................................................................................................................. 36 - Billy/Billie Cumpleton Sherman ............................................................................................................................ 42 - Reagan Bewley .......................................................................................................................................................... 49 - E. J. Spengler .............................................................................................................................................................. 54 Exhibits - Exhibit 1: Map of downtown Athens .................................................................................................................. 59 - Exhibit 2: Floor plan of the Georgia Theatre .................................................................................................... 60 - Exhibit 3: Georgia Theatre insurance declaration page ................................................................................ 62 - Exhibit 4: Settlement agreement between Beauregard and Sherman .................................................... 63 - Exhibit 5: Photos of ghost light and hat found by Beauregard ................................................................... 65 - Exhibit 6: Charred remains of file found after fire .......................................................................................... 67 - Exhibit 7: Text message .......................................................................................................................................... 70 - Exhibit 8: ATF Origin and Cause Report ............................................................................................................. 71 - Exhibit 9: Nisi hearing transcript .......................................................................................................................... 78 - Exhibit 10: Grand Jury “No Bill” for Billy/Billie Sherman .............................................................................. 84 - Exhibit 11: Summary of cause report from E.J. Spengler ............................................................................. 85 - Exhibit 12: Summary of cause report from Elijah/Ellie Johnston ............................................................... 87 Jury Form ................................................................................................................................................................................... 88 Legal Authorities: Statutes ................................................................................................................................................... 89 Charge of the Court/Jury Instructions .............................................................................................................................. 90 Background Information from Items in the Case .......................................................................................................... 93 The 2019 National High School Mock Trial Championship Case authored by the SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE PROBLEM | ATHENS2019 PLANNING COMMITTEE STATE BAR OF GEORGIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CLARKE COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA ATHENA GENERAL PROPERTY AND ) CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CIVIL ACTION NO: 2019-NHSMTC ) HAYDEN BEAUREGARD AND ) BILLY/BILLIE SHERMAN, ) ) Defendants. ) NOTE: All characters, names, events, places and circumstances in this mock trial case are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any person (living or dead), place, thing or event is purely coincidental. The Subcommittee on the Problem gratefully acknowledges the team of writers and editors who produced this original case: Hon. Michael H. Barker, Magistrate Court of Chatham Kevin Epps, Esq., Epps, Holloway, DeLoach, & County, Savannah Hoipkemier, Watkinsville Jon Setzer, Esq., Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Adam Hebbard, Esq., Athens Office, Lawrenceville C. Elizabeth “Beth” Jones, Esq., Marietta Christy Barker, Esq., Chatham County District Attorney’s Hon. Jennifer B. Mann, Magistrate Court of Gwinnett Office, Savannah County, Lawrenceville Peyton Bell, Esq., Harris Lowry