MOOT COURT
What is Moot Court?
Moot Court is a competition, conducted at both the undergraduate level and in law school, in which teams of students prepare and argue legal cases. Cases, which can be real or hypothetical, are decided on before the competition. Teams are assigned opposite sides of the case, and they are a given a set period to prepare. Judges are selected for the cases and the general rules are set forth. Some of the basic rules are:
1. Petitioners, the side bringing the case, go first. They have a set time, usually
an hour, to present their cases. They may, if they choose, request five minutes
for a reply at the close of the respondents' (the other side) arguments. Each
person on the team gets the same amount of time. If an individual presenter does
not use all their time, that time is forfeited by the team.
2. Presenters have a set time period for their argument. During this time, they may use
notes and other materials, but they may not get help from any other person.
They should begin their arguments with, "If it may please the court, I am (your
name) and I am representing the petitioners".
3. Judges may ask questions at any time. They may ask anything about the case,
and are not restricted to the point or argument the presenter is making at the time.
4. After the petitioners, respondents have the same time period to present their
argument. Respondents, do not, however, get a reply.
5. At the close of the arguments, the judges meet to deliberate. They generally make
three decisions:
a. Judgment of case on merits---which side should prevail legally
b . Best Overall Team
c. Best Individual Presenter
Moot Court can be done in many ways, including both head-to-head competition and tournament formats.
Moot Court at Queens
At Queens, students have many opportunities for Moot Court. In Constitutional Law, a required course in the Pre-Law Concentration (and an elective for Environmental Policy), moot court is an important part of the curriculum. In this class, moot court is done twice throughout the semester, during class time, and students serve as both presenters and judges. Moot Court is also the focus of Experiential Learning in Political Science: Moot Court, a 1-credit requirement for the Pre-Law Concentration. Here, moot court is the main focus, and students have numerous opportunities to experience this exercise. In Experiential Learning, there is at least one public moot court performance, usually with faculty serving as judges. Finally, for the past several years, Queens University has engaged in a friendly competition with its cross-town rival Johnson C. Smith University, staging home-and-home moot court contests whenever possible. In these competitions, the judges are lawyers and judges from the Charlotte legal community. For information on the latest Queens-Johnson C. Smith showdown, click here
Why Do Moot Court?
1. It is great practice for both law school and your future legal career. There is
no substitute for the experience of actually making a legal argument before
an actual judge.
2. It helps develop important skills needed for both law school and the practice
of law. These skills included the ability to communicate effectively, think
analytically, understand key legal principles, and construct a sound legal
argument.
3. Participation in activities like moot court is something that will look very
good on a law school application. See Getting into Law School.
4. It is a lot of fun!