Director: Professor Lewis S. Ringel
Graduate Assistant: Patrick Burke
Assistant Coaches: Anastasia Benzel, Patrick Dyson , Kelsey Stapler
What is Moot Court?
Moot court is the simulation of appellate argument. Two-person legal teams compete in front of a panel of judges. Students argue a hypothetical legal case known as “the competition case.” To do so, students must research the cases and laws cited in “the competition case.” Moot court judges ask students questions and grade the students on the basis of their knowledge of the case, their response to questioning, their forensic skills, and their demeanor. Oral argument lasts 40 minutes (each side gets 20 minutes) and each student is expected to speak for a minimum of 7 minutes.
For more information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moot_court
Why Take Moot Court?
It is fun and rewarding. It is challenging. It is good experience for law school and a legal career. It will teach you how to think, speak, and write in a clearer and more precise manner. You will learn valuable research skills. You will improve your logical and critical thinking skills. You will meet and network with a variety of important people in the legal, academic, and political community.
Who Judges Moot Court?
Moot court judges can be most anyone who is familiar with the record and the law or the legal system. Judges at past Western Regionals have included federal judges, a California appellate justice, members of the California Superior Court Judges, administrative law judges, law school deans, an assistant district attoney, city attorneys,
CSULB faculty, bar association officers, prominent members of the California Bar including members of the Inn of Court, federal law clerks, state research attorneys, and associates with leading law firms such as White & Case, Akin, Gump, and Strauss, and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky, and Walker, a prosecutor with the DHS, a jury consultant, law students, and former undergraduate mooters. Judges at the national tournament included former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, several Virginia judges, law school deans, law school faculty, members of the Virginia Bar, and law students. The only restriction is that judges cannot be undergraduates.
If you, or someone you know, might be interested in judging at future tournaments please contact Professor Ringel
The History of Moot Court at CSULB
If you're interested in where CSULB has been, check out this history.
If you're interested in the history of the Western Regional at CSULB, you'll find it here: Western Regional Tournament.
How do I get into Moot Court?
IMPORTANT: Participation in the CSULB program is by permission of the instructor (Dr. Ringel).
Students who wish to participate in the political science department's moot court program need to apply. Please note that the deadline for the spring 2012 semester application is Oct. 31, 2011 and for the fall 2012 semester application is April 2, 2012.
Once accepted by Dr. Ringel, applicants need to enroll in:
417. Legal Practices: Moot Court (3)
Prerequisites: Completion of either: POSC 311 or 312, AND one of: POSC 318, 412, or 414; and upper division standing. Study and acquisition of the skills of lawyering, including legal research, reasoning, writing, and trial advocacy. Substantive study of civil liberties.Enrollment in this course is by instructor permission only. Please contact Professor Ringel at lringel@csulb.edu for further information. His office is SPA 223. Phone: 562-985-4708.
POSC 417 is a demanding and rigorous course. Students should anticipate a challenging but exciting and extremely worthwhile experience. Contact Professor Ringel to see his latest syllabus or click 417 syllabus.
The current case can be found at: http://falcon.fsc.edu/mootcourt/
Read What Former Moot Court Students Say About Moot Court
MOOT COURT TOURNAMENTS
PHOTOS:
CSULB at the 2008 National Moot Court Competition
CSULB 2008 Moot Court team with Judge Paul Turner and Professor Lewis Ringel at the 2008 Western Regional held at CSULB.
2010 2nd Annual California Moot Court Classic Tournament
HIGHLIGHTS:
2nd Annual California Moot Court Classic Tournament
Information for the Western Regional Moot Court Competition at CSULB
Registration Form
Links to Moot Court in the U.S.
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We would also like to acknowledge the support in the form of donations of prizes of the CSULB 49er Shops, Lanahan Publishing, Prentice-Hall and McGraw-Hill. Thanks to everyone else who has supported and continues to support our Moot Court program, including Scott Allen and the Hauth Center. A special word of appreciation to Vern Schooley and the Joseph Ball/Clarence Hunt Inn of Court of Long Beach, and our many supporters in the Long Beach Bar Association and the Long Beach Barristers who have donated their time to judge and/or recruit justices for the Western Regional. A special thanks to Michelle Wilson for providing photocopies of the case and bench brief. Thanks to the Offices of the President and the Provost and the College of Liberal Arts.
