Patrick Tran / The Collegian
Athletics aren̢۪t the only competition on campus that make student participants sick with excitement. There is also moot court.
“It’s great, nerve-wrecking at times… the worst thing that can happen is that I throw up,â€Â said Rocky Yang Fresno State student, when referring to his preparation for the moot court competition.
“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, said Professor Lewis S. Ringel, program director at California State University, Long Beach.
On Dec. 5, Yang and 10 other Fresno State students will be going down to Long Beach to face off against other schools in the Western Regional Moot Court Tournament.
For at least seven minutes, each student must stand in front of three judges who will score them accordingly based on their knowledge of the case, their response to questioning, their forensic skills and their demeanor. The oral argument can last a total of 40 minutes, 20 for each team member.
The students must be prepared to argue both sides of the fictional case they are assigned. The case is given to them in advance to allow preparation. In this occasion they will be arguing whether a student̢۪s civil rights were violated by her school when they wouldn̢۪t let her speak in a certain area. They must be familiar with prior rulings on similar cases in order to use as reference when arguing their side.
At Fresno State, moot court is offered as a class and this semester it meets for an hour, three times a week. However, because the competition is getting closer, they will start meeting on the weekends as well.
“You have to have a certain steel in your spine, you have to have talent, you have to be willing to work really hard,â€Â Ringel said. “We lose a lot of students. These are all students that are not used to getting knocked on their asses.â€Â
In his seventh year in moot court, Ringel has seen that not for all students are up for the challenge and said that every year he starts with more students than he ends up with.
“Finishing the competition is an accomplishment of its own,â€Â Ringel said. “After this, a lot of them decide they want to go to law school, they just don’t want to do the appellate law.â€Â
For Gina Wallace, Fresno State moot court instructor, this will be her first year preparing a group of students for the competition.
“I am excited. I can’t wait to watch them in front of the judges,â€Â Wallace said. “I realized there was some real talent in these students, some have voice quality, some can be very analytical. They all have something.â€Â
Wallace, like Ringel, did lose a few students in the course of the semester. She started with 14 and is down to 11.
I try to make sure they do not feel overwhelmed and drop,â€Â Wallace said. “I offer constructive criticism in a positive way. I try to tell them not to pay attention to ‘don’ts’ and say things like, ‘you did great and it would be even better if….’â€Â
Most of the students in her class have either a political science or criminology background, but not all.
Ashley Gosney, a psychology graduate student decided that law was her passion. Despite the disadvantage she felt, she feels confident she will do well in the competition.
“I think that anyone can benefit from a class like this, even if they are not considering law school. It makes them better analytical thinkers and better at arguing,â€Â Gosney said.
Moot court is different than mock trial. Mock trial has to do with criminal cases where there is a jury and students are asked to question witnesses. In moot court, it is only the students and the judges and the students̢۪ arguments have to be based on the constitution.