GuidelinesforConductingaMootCourt

AmootcourtispatternedafteranappealscourtorSupremeCourthearing.Thecourt,
composedofapanelofjudges,isaskedtoruleonalowercourt'sdecision.Nowitnessesare
called,norarethebasicfactsinacasedisputed.Argumentsarepreparedandpresentedon
theapplicationofalaw,theconstitutionalityofalaw,orthefairnessofpreviouscourt
procedures.Inmanywaysthemootcourtislikeadebate,foreachsidepresentsarguments
forthejudges'consideration.Mootcourthearingsmayhelpparticipantsdevelopagreater
understandingoftheappellatelevelofourlegalsystemandofthesubjectbeingdebated.
HowtoProceed
1.Selectacase(actualorhypothetical),orassistparticipantsinselectingacaseto
appealthatraisesquestionsrelevanttotheconceptbeingstudied.Preparea"Fact
Situation"whichincludesasummaryofessentialevidencefromthetrialandthecourt
decisiontobeappealed.(Attorneysmaybehelpfulinselectionofanappropriatecase
andwritingthe"FactSituation.")
2.Dividetheclassintogroupsof68participantsdivideeachgroupinto34member
litigantteams.Oneteamisdesignatedasthe"appealinglitigantteam"andwillhave
theresponsibilityofarguingagainsttherulingofalowercourt.Theotherteamis
designatedasthe"supportinglitigantteam"andwillpresentargumentsinfavorofthe
lowercourt'sdecision.(Ifpossible,eachlitigantteamshouldbeassignedanattorney
asaresourceperson.However,attorneysshouldnotparticipateintheoralarguments
beforethecourt.)
3.Eachparticipantshouldbegivenacopyofthe"InstructionsforMootCourtHearings"
whichfollows,andthe"FactSituation."
4.Timeshouldbeprovidedforthepreparationoforalarguments.Eachlitigantteam
shouldchooseatleasttwopeopletopresenttheirteam'sargumentsbeforethecourt.
5.Ifattorneyshaveservedasresourcepersonsduringthepreparationperiod,assign
themto3memberjudicialpanelstopresideoverthehearings.Ifpossible,teams
shouldpresenttheirargumentsbeforeattorneyswhodidnotservetheirteamas
resourcepersons.Ifnotenoughattorneysornoattorneysareavailable,theprogram
staffmayserveasjudges.
PrincipalResponsibilitiesoftheProgramStaffandAttorneys
1.Tomakecertainthatthecaseselectedforthemootcourtisrelevanttotheconcept
beingstudied.
2.Toassistwiththecoordinationandsupportactivitiesnecessarytoimplementamoot
court,specifically:
a.procureasufficientnumberofattorneystoserveasresourcepersonsandjudges
b.makearrangementstouseactualcourtrooms,ifdesired
c.makelitigantteamandjudgeassignments
d.determineappropriatetimelimitsforeachsegmentofthemootcourt.
3.Tomakecertainthatparticipantsarefamiliarwithmootcourtproceduresandtheir
roles.
4.Toassistparticipantsindevelopingtheirargumentswhenhelpisneeded.
5.Toconductamootcourt.

6.Toconductthediscussionsessionfollowingthehearing.
InstructionsforMootCourtHearings
1.Participantsshouldconsiderallofthedetailspresentedinthe"FactSituation"tohave
beenestablishedinatrialcourt.Teamsmaynotarguethatanyofthosefactsare
inaccurate.
2.Argumentsdonotneedtobeconfinedtoexistinglegalprecedentsorrecognizedlegal
theories.Anyargumentthoughttobepersuasivefromaphilosophical,theoretical,
conceptualorpracticalstandpointcanbemade.Teamsmayrelyonprinciplesfounded
ontheUnitedStatesConstitution.
3.Eachlitigantteamshouldbepreparedtopresentitsoralargumenttoapanelof
judges.Atleasttwomembersofeachlitigantteamshouldpresenttheteam'soral
argumentsbeforethe3membercourtofappeals.Teamsmayhaveasmany
spokespersonsastheywish.The"appealinglitigantteams"presenttheirargument
first,followedbythe"supportinglitigantteams"presentation.
4.Teamsshouldanticipateactivequestioningfromthejudgesduringoralpresentations.
Spokespersonsrepresentingeachlitigantteamareexpectedtorespondimmediatelyto
questionsandconcernsraisedbythejudges.Discussionswiththejudgesinthis
mannerwillnotextendtheteam'stimeunlessthecourtexercisesitsdiscretionto
permitanextensionoftimefortheteam'sscheduledpresentation.
5.Litigantteams'oralargumentsarelimited.toaspecificamountoftime.Thecourthas
thediscretiontograntextratime,butshouldnotnormallyexercisethisprivilege.Any
extensionsofthetimeshouldbeforastatednumberofminutes.Teamsmayreservea
partoftheirtotalargumenttimeforrebuttalargument.Rebuttaltimeneednotbe
reserved.Iftimeisreserved,itshouldbeusedtocounteropponent'sarguments,notto
raisenewissues.Amemberoftheopposingteamshouldserveasthepresenting
team'stimeadvisorduringthearguments.Thefollowingintervalsshowingthe
numberofminutesleftmaybeusedbythetimeadvisor:10,5,4,3,2,1,1/2.Time
advisorsshouldholdupcardsfortheteam'sattentionandforthecourttosee.If
argumentshavenotbeencompleted,spokespersonsareneverthelesstoterminatetheir
presentationpreciselyuponexpirationoftheallottedtime,unlessthepresidingjudge
grantsanextensionoftime.
6.Aftertheargumentsforboththe"appealinglitigant"and"supportinglitigant"teams
havebeenheardbythecourt,thepanelofjudgesshoulddeliberateandreacha
decision.Deliberationofthecasemaytakeplaceinprivateormaybeconducted
beforetheclass.Atimelimitforthesedeliberationswillprobablyberequired.
7.Afterthedecisionshavebeenannounced,classparticipantsandattorneysshould
discussthevariousdecisionsofthecourt,theissuesraised,andmootcourt
procedures.
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