Last updated on:  03/27/2007

The Mecklenburg County Moot Court Competition is scheduled for February 18, 2006.

       Congratulations to Susan Linn and Kristen Bost, members of Country Day's first moot court team.  The team placed first among Mecklenburg County teams at the county competition on Saturday, March 5th.  This win entitles the team to represent Mecklenburg County at the regional competition in April.  The winner of the regional competition will compete in the state finals held at the North Carolina Supreme Court in May.

    Below is a summary of the state high school moot court competition.  If, after reading the summary, you are interested in being a member of the CCDS moot court team, please let me know by emailing me (janet.fort@charlottecountryday.org) or seeing me in the math office.  I'll try to answer any questions that you may have.  Thanks, and happy reading!  Ms. Janet Fort, Esq.

The State High School Moot Court Competition

       Each year a state moot court competition is held for high school students.  In North Carolina, the competition is sponsored by the Law Week Committee for the Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association.  The competition provides the opportunity for attorneys across the state to work with small groups of high school students. The students take from the program an appreciation for the work involved in preparing an appellate argument and an understanding of the appellate process and its role in the judicial system.

        This competition is available to every high school in the state, both public and private. This competition begins with the delivery of the problem to the schools in November. In mid-March, county competitions are held to identify the county champion, and more than one team from any school may participate.  The next level occurs in late March or April, when two regional competitions are conducted to select the two finalists who will argue the case at the North Carolina Supreme Court on Law Day. These finalists argue before a three–member panel, traditionally composed of North Carolina Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals Judges. 

        Both the state champion and the runner-up teams are recognized at the Law Day Ceremony, where each team member receives a trophy and savings bond. The Law Day Ceremony is usually held the first Friday in May. Members of all three branches of government, the North Carolina Bar Association and the winners' families, including sponsoring teachers, will be invited to attend the ceremony. At the regional level, the winners and runner-up receive medals, while county winners receive ribbons. All participants receive certificates.

        The Law Week Committee has continued to sponsor a luncheon between the final round of the Moot Court Competition and the Law Day Ceremony. The luncheon provides a nice transition between these events, and allows student winners and their families an opportunity to meet members of the judiciary, government, and Young Lawyers Division and the North Carolina Bar Association officers in an informal atmosphere.

Competition Rules:

        Each team is comprised of two high school students.  Each team is allowed twenty minutes to present its argument.  Teams may divide their time between members as they see fit.  However, it is encouraged that the students divide their time as close to equal as possible.  Each team member must present an argument. 

       A three-judge panel will preside over each round.  Judges may interrupt the argument from time to time to ask questions of the participants.  Judges will score each member of both teams according to a Judges Rating Sheet.  The decision determining the winner of each round will be based on the performance of both team members.  A separate rating sheet should be prepared for each member of the team, and these separate scores will be combined for an aggregate score for the team.  The team with the highest aggregate score will advance to the next round of competition.
 

        There will be two distinct issues to argue on each side.  The team members should decide between themselves which one will argue a particular issue.  The first team member should also be prepared to give a brief recitation of the facts of the case, unless waived by the judges.  The issues from 2004's problem were (i) whether a school system had made sufficient progress in eliminating the ill effects of a formerly de jure segregated school system, and (ii) whether the system could maintain a race-based admissions policy in its schools. 

        Competitors will be limited to using their own arguments, common sense, and the materials in the packet delivered to the schools.  Citation of legal sources in the oral argument should be limited to authorities referred to in the packet.  Outside legal research for additional authority should not be done and will not aid scoring.  All participants will have an equal footing for substantive sources.  Participants may, however, cite current events and logical hypotheticals relevant to the problem.  While the packet contains some suggestions that students may choose to adopt for their arguments, the suggestions are not intended as strict rules.  Originality, intuition, and creativity are appreciated.

        Procedurally, the students will be arguing the case to the United States Supreme Court.  The packet will contain the order rendered by the trial court, the opinion of the appellate court, and the writ of certiorari granted by the United States Supreme Court.  The packet will also contain several published court cases that contain a full discussion of the principles of law as applied by the courts in reviewing similarly situated party's rights.  Together with the opinions that explain the lower courts' decision in the particular case, they provide all of the facts and law that are needed to successfully argue the case for either the plaintiff or the defendant.  At each level of competition, each team will argue for the plaintiff in one round and for the defendant in another round.  No further research is necessary or allowed.  Creative thinking and argument are encouraged, but students' presentations should not assume facts other than those provided by the courts' opinion.

Actual Oral Arguments:

    Transcripts of oral arguments for actual cases heard by the United States Supreme Court are available at www.supremecourtus.gov.  To get a better understanding of an oral argument from that site, click on oral arguments and then click on argument transcripts.  Just pick any case and have a good look.