Moot Court

About Moot Court

Moot Court is an academic program that teaches high school students about the US Constitution, specifically focusing on the appellate court process. Each Moot Court case focuses on a unique constitutional issue that students must examine from both sides. Through participation in the program, students take on the roles of attorneys presenting oral arguments before appellate court judges. Students also gain experience in legal writing by working as a team to write a brief for their chosen side of the case.

Program Event/Student Assessment

At the Moot Court State Competition, participating teams are evaluated on their performance during oral arguments and their written brief. During oral arguments, each Moot Court team will be randomly paired against another team. Each team will present oral arguments for both sides of the case, switching sides and opponents from one hearing to the next. Teams that cannot travel to Columbus, or that do not wish to present oral arguments, have the option to participate in the brief-only competition.

Moot Court teams may have a minimum of 2 students and a maximum of 5 students.

State Competition Details

• When?

  • The Moot Court State Competition takes place in late April or early May each year.

• Where?
  • The Moot Court State Competition takes place at the Supreme Court of Ohio in Columbus. 
  • Brief-only participants will submit their briefs electronically, ahead of the in-person competition.

Contact Danny Rains at drains@oclre.org or call (614) 485-3514 for more information.

Costs

Sample Invoice

Moot Court Case Files

Each year OCLRE creates an original case file that challenges students to tackle contemporary legal issues. Cases always include at least one constitutional law issue and an additional constitutional or statutory interpretation issue.

The 2025 Moot Court Case File will be released in January 2025.

Case Materials Cost

Previous Cases

Looking for a prior year's case file? To view a complete list of past case summaries, click HERE. To order a prior year's case, please contact Ryan Suskey at rsuskey@oclre.org.

• 2024 – State of Buckeye v Julie Jenkins
  Julie Jenkins, a high school journalist, has been recently hired as a writer for the online journal Fueling Our Future, covering the upcoming primary election for governor of Buckeye. Suspecting that one of the candidates is being less than truthful about their campaign promises, she signs up to volunteer for the campaign where she overhears the candidate on the phone and realizes that she was right. After posting on social media about what she heard, Julie was charged with and found guilty of the crime of Campaign Infiltration. Although she appealed, her conviction was affirmed. Julie is now challenging her conviction in the Supreme Court of Buckeye. Moot Court teams will argue on behalf of both sides as to whether Julie's conduct violated the statute under which she is charged and whether the statute impacts Julie's rights under the First Amendment.

• 2023 – Austin Jones v State of Buckeye
  Austin Jones, formerly the high school class president at Honey Badger High School and now a college student, was asked to plan his five-year class reunion. Notorious during his high school career for his pranks, Jones took the party planning in full stride, ordering food and booking entertainment and rental space. His last task in planning was the ultimate party prank: stuffing a pinata full of marijuana chocolate. On his way to the event, Jones is arrested during a routine traffic stop, after the smell of marijuana coming from the car prompted a search by the police officer. Jones argued that the search was unreasonable and conducted without probable cause. Students will consider whether the search was constitutional based on Jones’s Fourth Amendment rights and whether the amount of marijuana Jones possessed resulted in the appropriate offense. Moot Court requires students to look at both sides of these exciting legal questions and to practice their advocacy skills before a mock Supreme Court!  

• 2022 – State of Buckeye v Kat Hood
  The 2022 Ohio Moot Court Case File asks students to grapple with the Fourth Amendment and the challenges of balancing public safety and individual rights. The case centers on 18 year old student Kat Hood and an interaction with a police officer in which a shouted accusation from a crowded food court leads to a search of Kat's belongings. Students will consider whether the novelty crossbow Kat carries qualifies as a "deadly weapon" under the meaning of Buckeye Revised Code, and whether a shouted accusation by an unidentified bystander creates sufficient probable cause for the officer to search Kat's bag. Moot Court requires students to look at both sides of these exciting legal questions and to practice their advocacy skills before a mock Supreme Court.

Moot Court Competition

Registration Cost

*Schools are limited to a maximum of two (2) teams for the 2024-25 competition.

Please contact Danny Rains at drains@oclre.org or call (614) 485-3514 for addition information or questions.

FAQ

How do I get started?
If you or your school/organization are new to the Moot Court Program, welcome! We’re glad you’re here. First, you will need the case file.  Once you have ordered the case file, it will be sent to you digitally.  

Do you offer training so I can learn more about Moot Court, what it is, and how I have my students participate?
Yes! You should attend our Constitution Camp in the fall.  This training will give teachers information about content, teaching strategies, and classroom applications for both our Moot Court and We the People programs.  If you’re unable to attend Constitution Camp, contact us and we can try to work out something on an individual basis.  Additionally, you can use the lessons/resources already available on our website. 

I’ve got my case materials. Is that all? Am I ready to compete?
Not quite! Team registration is a separate cost and registration form.  A team consists of 3-6 students. We strongly suggest enrolling more team members to account for potential changes in the roster.

How is the Moot Court Competition Structured?
There are two phases. Once you have ordered your case file and registered your team, you will need to start on the first phase of competition: brief writing.  Brief scores account for 40% of your overall score. Once you have submitted your brief, all teams compete for the first time at the competition at the Ohio Supreme Court in Columbus. All teams will compete in the preliminary rounds,  and advancing teams will compete in Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the final round on the same day.

I don’t want to compete. Can I still participate?
Absolutely! Taking part in the Moot Court competition is not required. Once you’ve ordered the case file, you have everything you need to run Moot Court in your classroom. Need help setting that up? Contact Danny Rains at drains@oclre.org or call (614) 485-3514

My students and I are struggling with the start-up. Who can help us?
We have teacher mentors for all of our programs, including moot court. Teacher mentors have expressed willingness to help other teachers who are new to a program, to answer questions from the teacher perspective or offer advice. Contact Danny Rains for assistance.

How much time should my students and I spend on practice and preparation?
The short yet complex answer is: it varies. Some teams are classroom-based and therefore spend class time each week preparing. Other teams are extra-curricular and meet one or more times per week, before or after school, or on weekends. Others may only have time to meet a few times per month. There is no right or wrong answer. Figure out what works best for you, your fellow advisors (if any), and your students.  Many teams spend time over a few months preparing.  Some teams spend time in advance of the case release going over the basics of moot court, such as the appellate court system, how to read a court opinion, constructing legal arguments, etc.

I don’t have a legal advisor. Do I need one?
We do not require that moot court teams have a legal advisor, however, most teachers appreciate assistance from volunteer attorneys, who help students understand case law, courtroom procedure, and etiquette. Often times the legal advisor is the parent of a student or a local attorney who volunteers in his/her community. The time commitment for volunteer legal advisors varies and is worked out between the teacher/team advisor and attorney. If you are unable to find a legal advisor, contact Danny Rains and we may be able to put you in contact with an interested local attorney.

I have a question about or found a discrepancy in, the facts of the case and/or a witness statement. What do I do?
An errata, corrected errors for the case file, will be posted on the Moot Court page as needed.  Errata questions must be submitted by the teacher or legal advisor, not students, and should be directed to Danny Rains at drains@oclre.org.

My school doesn’t have a moot court team, but I want to get involved. What can I do?
Are you a high school student? Start by talking to a teacher – it could be a social studies teacher, the drama teacher, or even the principal. If you and three or more interested students are willing to take on the challenge, the teacher may be willing, too. There is some expense involved, so make sure to factor that into consideration. If you get buy-in from school personnel, refer the person to the top of this list of FAQs for next steps. If a student can’t convince a teacher in his/her school, please contact us. On occasion, there are other opportunities to get involved.

I am having trouble with the online order form and am getting frustrated. What should I do?
Don’t worry – OCLRE is here to help! Call us at (614) 485-3510  and ask for Cathy Godfrey. She can guide you through problems and make sure you get what you need. Additionally, Cathy can answer questions about usernames and passwords, as well as payment options. We endeavor to continually improve our online order and registration processes to benefit our customers, and your feedback helps us to do so.

What are the payment options for online orders and registrations? Do I have to use a credit card?
We offer several payment options. You may pay with a credit card, request to be invoiced, or enter a purchase order (PO) number. If the PO number is not known at the time an order is placed, you may select the purchase order option and then enter “pending” for the number.

How do I know if my order/registration has been completed successfully?
When orders and registrations have been submitted successfully to us, an automatic email confirmation is generated and should arrive in your inbox within minutes. If you do not receive a confirmation email within an hour, please contact our office at 614-485-3510.

A few helpful hints for proper form completion:

• Follow the process all the way through, using the “Next” and “Submit” buttons.
• Complete all required (*) fields or you will not be able to proceed/finish
• Complete the payment portion of the form, even if you are not paying by credit card. Other options that you can select include requesting an invoice or entering a PO number (or indicate that a PO is in process and the number is “pending”)