Moot court is a simulation of an appeals court or Supreme Court hearing. Teams of two student “attorneys” prepare and present oral arguments on a legal case, such as the constitutionality of the Equal Rights Amendment, to a judge or panel of judges. The activity provides a unique opportunity to learn about real case law, trial processes, and the fundamentals of legal analysis and persuasion.

Each spring, Princeton Mock Trial hosts the Princeton Moot Court tournament for high schoolers—over the course of two days, hundreds of students from across the country compete against each other in the realm of constitutional law. Our tournament uniquely invites federal judges, renowned legal professors, and some of the nation’s top practicing attorneys and retired judges to judge the final rounds of our competition.

Each round, two teams of two student attorneys each compete against each other. One team represents the petitioner, and the other team represents the respondent. The petitioner appeals the lower court decision, and the respondent argues that the lower court decision was correct. Over the course of the four preliminary rounds, teams will represent each side twice.

Each team will have 20 minutes to speak during a round. The petitioner will speak first and may reserve up to 8 minutes of their time for a rebuttal. The respondent then speaks for the entirety of their 20 minutes. Finally, the petitioner presents a rebuttal. Speaking time should be split evenly between the two students on a team.

You should prepare at least 10 minutes of your presentation beforehand, but be careful not to fill up your entire 20 minutes with prepared material—you’ll have to respond to the points that your opponent made and answer questions from the judge(s). During both teams’ presentations, the judge will interrupt with questions about your argument and about legal precedent. You should be well versed in the case law provided in the case packet, and you will need to think on your feet to answer questions. The number of questions asked each round will vary from judge to judge. The judge will not ask questions in the first or last minute of a team’s overall time.

A good presentation will address each constitutional question provided in the case packet and will explain why your side offers the correct interpretation of the law. To do this, rely heavily on the case law provided, and present very clearly how you are interpreting the law and precedent in your argument.

Please direct all inquiries to princetonmootcourt@gmail.com.

Just like our program, our Moot Court competition is entirely student run—a team of student case writers prepares the case packet, and a special planning committee oversees and runs the entire tournament.