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What is Moot Court?
Do you like to wrestle with complex issues and persuade others to a particular point of view? Want to learn how to think on your feet and stay calm under pressure? Then Moot Court is for you!
Moot Court is a simulation of an appeals court or Supreme Court hearing. Attorneys prepare and present arguments before a panel of judges on a legal question (such as the constitutionality of freedom of speech on school campuses). During the attorneys’ presentations, the judges can interrupt at any time to ask questions.
While each moot court case seeks a decision regarding a specific lower court decision, the appeals or Supreme Court will be asked to consider broader legal implications. The petitioner seeks redress from the court, asking the Court to overturn a lower court decision. The respondent asks the Court to uphold the previous decision. Both sides must understand and interpret legal precedent and make effective use of case law in developing their arguments.
The Case
A typical case for a Moot Court competition will address one or two constitutional issues. Cases are designed to be fair and balanced, with compelling arguments for both sides. In addition to the fact pattern and lower court decision associated with the moot court case, students will analyze case law and precedent of other cases that address the same constitutional issue.
The Teams
There are two students on each Moot Court team. While both must argue in each round, you have freedom to decide how to divide the case / arguments. You’ll work together to present arguments for your side of the case.
The Rounds
Two teams compete against each other in each round. One team represents the petitioner and the other represents the respondent. Over the course of the tournament, all teams will represent both sides.
Each team will have 20 minutes to speak during a round. The petitioner speaks first and may reserve up to 8 minutes of their time for a rebuttal. The respondent then speaks for the entirety of their 20 minutes. Finally, the petitioner gives a rebuttal, which cannot introduce new material but must address arguments brought by the respondent. Note that judge questions are “on the clock” and count against each team’s allotted time.
You should prepare at least 10 minutes of your presentation beforehand, but be careful not to fill up the entire 20 minutes with prepared material. You will need to respond to the points that the opponent made, as well as to questions from the judge. A good presentation should address each constitutional question and explain why your side offers the correct interpretation. To do this, rely heavily on both the Constitution and the case law provided. Be very clear about how the prior cases are interpreting the laws and precedent, as well as any similarities or differences between the fact pattern in the moot court case and the facts of the precedent cases.
The Judging
Early rounds will typically have one judge. Later rounds will have panels of three or more judges. The final round has five or more judges.
During both teams’ presentations, the judge will interrupt to ask questions. You should be well versed in the case law provided and able to think on your feet. The number of questions asked will vary from judge to judge. The judge will not ask questions in the first or last minute of each team’s overall time. When the round is over, the judge will score each individual attorney on argument and presentation and score the team on their teamwork.
An attorney’s argument score is based on the content of their presentation. To receive a high score in this area, you should be thorough, convincing, and well prepared to answer questions. Presentation is scored separately from argument. When scoring on presentation, the judge will take into account factors such as how engaging you were, how smoothly you spoke and transitioned between points, and how much (if any) you relied on note cards. Finally, the teamwork score will be based on the level of collaboration between you and your partner. To score well, distribute the amount of speaking time equally between both attorneys, both when presenting prepared material and when fielding questions from the judge.
Scores will be added up for both sides and compared to determine the winner. In addition to selecting the winning team, the judge will pick a top attorney from the round. The top attorney does not necessarily have to be from the team that won. The top attorney designations will be used to calculate individual awards. Individual awards are given at the end of the tournament along with team awards.
Judges
These individuals may be judges, attorneys, law students with moot court experience, or some otherwise qualified individual, but may not be parents, even if a parent servers as an attorney adviser.
The Tournament
The Moot Court tournament takes place over two days. In early rounds, teams are randomly paired against each other. After four in-rounds, the top teams progress to the single elimination, out-round portion of the tournament. The final two teams face off in front of a panel of five or more justices, in a simulation of the Supreme Court.
Do you like to wrestle with complex issues and persuade others to a particular point of view? Want to learn how to think on your feet and stay calm under pressure? Then Moot Court is for you!
Moot Court is a simulation of an appeals court or Supreme Court hearing. Attorneys prepare and present arguments before a panel of judges on a legal question (such as the constitutionality of freedom of speech on school campuses). During the attorneys’ presentations, the judges can interrupt at any time to ask questions.
While each moot court case seeks a decision regarding a specific lower court decision, the appeals or Supreme Court will be asked to consider broader legal implications. The petitioner seeks redress from the court, asking the Court to overturn a lower court decision. The respondent asks the Court to uphold the previous decision. Both sides must understand and interpret legal precedent and make effective use of case law in developing their arguments.
The Case
A typical case for a Moot Court competition will address one or two constitutional issues. Cases are designed to be fair and balanced, with compelling arguments for both sides. In addition to the fact pattern and lower court decision associated with the moot court case, students will analyze case law and precedent of other cases that address the same constitutional issue.
The Teams
There are two students on each Moot Court team. While both must argue in each round, you have freedom to decide how to divide the case / arguments. You’ll work together to present arguments for your side of the case.
The Rounds
Two teams compete against each other in each round. One team represents the petitioner and the other represents the respondent. Over the course of the tournament, all teams will represent both sides.
Each team will have 20 minutes to speak during a round. The petitioner speaks first and may reserve up to 8 minutes of their time for a rebuttal. The respondent then speaks for the entirety of their 20 minutes. Finally, the petitioner gives a rebuttal, which cannot introduce new material but must address arguments brought by the respondent. Note that judge questions are “on the clock” and count against each team’s allotted time.
You should prepare at least 10 minutes of your presentation beforehand, but be careful not to fill up the entire 20 minutes with prepared material. You will need to respond to the points that the opponent made, as well as to questions from the judge. A good presentation should address each constitutional question and explain why your side offers the correct interpretation. To do this, rely heavily on both the Constitution and the case law provided. Be very clear about how the prior cases are interpreting the laws and precedent, as well as any similarities or differences between the fact pattern in the moot court case and the facts of the precedent cases.
The Judging
Early rounds will typically have one judge. Later rounds will have panels of three or more judges. The final round has five or more judges.
During both teams’ presentations, the judge will interrupt to ask questions. You should be well versed in the case law provided and able to think on your feet. The number of questions asked will vary from judge to judge. The judge will not ask questions in the first or last minute of each team’s overall time. When the round is over, the judge will score each individual attorney on argument and presentation and score the team on their teamwork.
An attorney’s argument score is based on the content of their presentation. To receive a high score in this area, you should be thorough, convincing, and well prepared to answer questions. Presentation is scored separately from argument. When scoring on presentation, the judge will take into account factors such as how engaging you were, how smoothly you spoke and transitioned between points, and how much (if any) you relied on note cards. Finally, the teamwork score will be based on the level of collaboration between you and your partner. To score well, distribute the amount of speaking time equally between both attorneys, both when presenting prepared material and when fielding questions from the judge.
Scores will be added up for both sides and compared to determine the winner. In addition to selecting the winning team, the judge will pick a top attorney from the round. The top attorney does not necessarily have to be from the team that won. The top attorney designations will be used to calculate individual awards. Individual awards are given at the end of the tournament along with team awards.
Judges
These individuals may be judges, attorneys, law students with moot court experience, or some otherwise qualified individual, but may not be parents, even if a parent servers as an attorney adviser.
The Tournament
The Moot Court tournament takes place over two days. In early rounds, teams are randomly paired against each other. After four in-rounds, the top teams progress to the single elimination, out-round portion of the tournament. The final two teams face off in front of a panel of five or more justices, in a simulation of the Supreme Court.