Moot court
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Moot court is an extracurricular activity in many law schools where participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term "moot court" is sometimes confused with "mock trial"; however, the two are not the same. "Moot court" usually refers to mock appellate court, while "mock trial" usually refers to a simulated jury trial or bench trial.
Law schools structure their moot court programs differently. Some moot court organizations accept a small group of people for membership, and those members each participate in a number of national or regional moot court competitions. Other schools accept a larger number of members, and each member is matched with one competition. A few schools conduct moot court entirely intramurally. Moot court competitions are typically sponsored by organizations with interest in one particular area of law, and the moot court problems address an issue in that field. Competitions are often judged by legal practitioners with expertise in the particular area of law, or sometimes by sitting judges.
The basic structure of a moot court competition roughly parallels what would happen in actual appellate practice. Participants will typically receive a problem ahead of time, which includes the facts of the underlying case, and often an opinion from a lower court that is being challenged in the problem. Students must then research and prepare for that case as if they were lawyers or advocates for one or sometimes both of the parties. Depending on the competition, participants will be required to submit written briefs, participate in oral argument, or both. The case or problem is often one of current interest, sometimes mimicking an actual case, and sometimes fabricated to address difficult legal issues.
Participation in moot court is greatly sought after by law students, generally second in prestige only to law review membership. Like law review, moot court membership is often a significant factor that employers look for in hiring graduating law students. In some instances, moot court experience may be equally or even more sought after than law review membership, if the hiring firm or agency is looking specifically for someone to work in a position involving litigation.
In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, the phrase "a moot court" may be shorted to simply "a moot" and the activity may be called "mooting".
[edit] See also
- Mootness, which has a precise meaning in US law that is quite different from UK usage.
- Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
- Telders International Law Moot Court Competition - http://www.telders.leidenuniv.nl/
- The Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot)
- The European Law Moot Court Competition
- Moot Alumni Association (MAA), the Alumni Association of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
