CSULB's
moot court team heads to Texas tournament
By
Marina Hernandez
On-line Forty-Niner
The
political science department's moot court
team will be heading to the American Collegiate
Moot Court Association's National Tournament
in Arlington, Texas at the end of January.
The
moot court team competes in two competitions,
the regional and the national. Cal State
Long Beach did well in the Western Regional
Moot Court Competition that was held on
campus in November.
Five
of the eight teams proceeded to the quarterfinal
round, while two teams advanced to the semi-final
round. Thomas Hartnett and Ja'Nene Hall
went up against Andrew Stubblefield and
Mark Melton from the University of Texas,
Arlington's in the championship round. Hartnett
and Hall finished as runners-up, and as
first and third in the top four individual
speakers category. Garciela Almada-Tavlavera
and Jalyn Wang placed in at fourth in the
top four teams category.
The
top five teams from the Western Regional
Competition will go to the national tournament
along with two or four alternate students.
Their goal is to win the national title
and some speaker awards. However, they are
up against "stiff competition,"
said Renee Cramer, political science professor
and the team's coach. The Arlington team
was also the champion of the Midwestern
Regional Competition.
The
teams, which consist of two students each,
will go through four rounds: sweet 16, quarterfinal,
semi-final, and final. Unaware of the side
they will argue until a coin toss before
the quarter and semi-final rounds, students
prepare to present two points for each side
of the mock trial's hypothetical case.
The
teams will have 20 minutes to argue for
or against the civil rights of the plaintiff.
They will be judged on their knowledge of
the subject matter, response to questioning,
forensic skills, and courtroom demeanor.
The
national tournament's hypothetical case
is regarding the privacy rights of William
DeNolf, a convicted rapist who is out on
parole on the condition that he attend or
work at a university versus Olympus State
University's right to notify students of
the attendee's criminal history by posting
his name, picture and address on their Web
site.
Politicial
science majors enrolled in the elective
course have the opportunity to become apart
of the team by volunteering to compete in
the Western Regional Moot Court Competition.
The course, taught by Cramer, is intended
to develop students' analytic and oral advocacy
skills. Whether or not students plan to
become lawyers or teachers, students will
benefit from taking this class because it
prepares them to think quickly on their
feet, speak in front of large groups, and
to take and give constructive criticism
Cramer said.
"It's
really an amazing way to learn speaking,
writing, and thinking in a very small group
setting. It's a lot of fun," said Cramer.
The
moot court organization was established
in 2000 and this is the second year the
course has been offered. According to it's
Web site, the association was established
to provide a system of top-quality undergraduate
moot court competitions in America due to
the rising number of undergraduate moot
court activity over the past decade. Moot
court tournaments are also held in Great
Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
and several other countries.
"It's
really an amazing way to learn speaking,
writing, and thinking in a very small group
setting. It's a lot of fun."
-- Renee Cramer,
moot court team coach
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