Moot Court Rules

During competition in this event, participants must adhere to the material contained in this rule section to ensure a fair and enjoyable experience for all.

• A. Moot Court General Rules for Online Competition

  1. Competitors may choose to stand or sit at a desk or table while presenting.
  2. A minimum of the competitor’s head and shoulders must be visible whenever the competitor is on camera.
  3. Advocates should keep their cameras on at all times except when experiencing significant technical difficulties.
  4. Delivery should be formal, exhibiting the utmost professionalism and respect toward the justice(s) presiding in the round.
  5. Speakers must begin each oral argument and specific responses precisely following the Moot Court Script.
  6. Each speaker will represent only one of the two legal issues per round with the exception of the speaker giving the rebuttal who will respond to both issues.
  7. The content presented in the round is restricted to a “closed universe” that is limited to material contained or referenced within the Moot Court Case Packet and the United States Constitution.
  8. The PDF documents provided in the Table of Cases include redactions, and are the only versions that are allowed during oral arguments.
  9. Cases not listed in the Table of Cases may be cited and discussed only to the extent they are mentioned in said opinions.
  10. Cases, such as those cited in footnotes or parentheticals, may not be expanded upon (beyond references made therein) during oral argument.
  11. Moot Court is primarily a verbal activity. Exhibits or visual aids are not permitted.
  12. Judges may use discretion to extend any portions of the round for a maximum of fifteen minutes in the case of technical difficulties only. Tournament Administration should be notified of any extended delays and will make decisions regarding the round.
  13. Other individuals may be present during a round but may not be visible on screen.
  14. An observer may not attempt to influence the outcome of a round in any way.

   

• B. Moot Court Electronic Device Use and Requirements

  1. Internet access and a device with a microphone and a webcam are required. The camera and microphone may be integrated or external.
  2. Advocates may not use electronic devices to research or to request, send, or receive information during the Moot Court round except for communication between partners as permitted by the rules.
  3. Electronic devices may be used for notetaking.
  4. A single, stationary camera must be used (i.e., no zooming or panning is permitted).
  5. Green screens, virtual backgrounds, or on-screen text may not be used.
  6. Partners may share a device and/or camera.
  7. Within the competition room, partners may access the private chat function when neither partner is presenting.

   

• C. Moot Court Timekeeping

  1. Advocates must be present and ready to begin promptly or risk forfeiture of the round. Forfeiture is determined by Tournament Administration.
     1. Competitors experiencing technical difficulties that cannot be resolved within a total of 15 minutes risk forfeiture of the round.
  2. Speakers must provide their own timepieces.
     1. The timepiece must count down and have an audible alarm.
     2. Electronic devices, such as phones, may be used for timekeeping, provided that competitors adhere to all other rules and limitations regarding the use of electronic devices.
  3. Speakers who are presenting will time their own speeches.
  4. Prescribed speaking order and time limits should be strictly observed, but the Chief Justice may allow limited extensions of time to permit a speaker to briefly answer a question or conclude a thought. Each side has a total of 20 minutes to speak.
     1. The petitioner must reserve between 1 and 4 minutes for rebuttal (in whole-minute increments) before the round. The remaining time is then divided evenly between the two speakers. Once the rebuttal time has been reserved it may not be changed in the round.
     2. The respondent must divide the 20-minute speaking time evenly between the two speakers.
  5. The first minute of each speech except the rebuttal is protected from interruption. The clerk will clap to indicate the end of this first minute.
  6. After the first minute, justices may interrupt a competitor to ask questions.
  7. The rebuttal is not protected, and justices may interrupt at any time.

   

  Moot Court Speeches	Time
  Petitioner 1	Up to 10 minutes, as reserved
  Petitioner 2	Up to 10 minutes, as reserved
  Respondent 1	10 minutes
  Respondent 2	10 minutes
  Rebuttal from either Petitioner 1 or 2	Up to 4 minutes, as reserved

   

Guidelines

In preparation for tournaments, participants should familiarize themselves with the following guidelines.

1. NCFCA Mission Statement

   to challenge and equip ambassadors for Christ to communicate truth with integrity and grace

2. League Policies

   Participants must abide by all NCFCA Policies.

   • General League Policies
   • Affiliation Policies
   • Registration Policies

3. Moot Court Competition Entry Policies

   • Competitors may not change partners in Moot Court during a tournament.
   • Competitors may compete and qualify to the National Championship with different partners at separate tournaments during the competitive season in Moot Court, but they must choose only one of their qualified partners to compete with at the National Championship.

4. Considerations for Participating Families

   While the educational value of Moot Court is clear, it does come with distinct challenges that families should consider. The court cases cited within the fictitious case each season are real. They contain complex ideas that young students may have difficulty following, and they often include facts about crimes that can be disturbing and difficult to process. In contrast with other debate styles, mooters can’t fully set the direction for all of their research; they must be familiar with the cited cases that make up the closed universe to be successful. While we try to screen the cited cases, those cases will often cite other cases that students may feel the need to research. Inevitably some of those cases will contain mature content. There is no way to redact enough to keep the Moot Court universe as safe as some might like for high school students. For this reason, we urge parents to think carefully about their student’s participation. Some students may not be ready for the complex issues and content even at the higher age threshold that we have in place. We urge parents to take extra time in evaluating their student’s readiness.

5. Commitment for Participating Families

   Excellence in Moot Court competition requires a large pool of judges with legal expertise, Moot Court experience, or a high commitment to studying and preparing. This experience or preparation is important because argumentation in Moot Court has a different aim and imagined audience than our other debate events. In policy and value debate, we ask students to communicate effectively with people from all walks of life because we want them to be able to speak well into the varied types of cultural and political discussions where we each have a voice. However, the simulated audience for Moot Court is composed of Supreme Court Justices who alone hold the final authority to decide on interpretations of constitutional law. Therefore, students must learn to craft persuasion that works within that legal context. Appropriate arguments for an appellate court will generally be very different from arguments that would persuade members of the general public. This means that, ideally, Moot Court judges need to be familiar enough with matters of constitutional law to discern which arguments are appropriate for the simulated context. Hosting our tournaments online helps us broaden the available judge pool, but we need constant help with recruiting enough well-qualified judges to give competitors the excellent feedback we aspire to provide. Participating families must commit to help us with this task by thinking of themselves as part of the judge recruitment team throughout the season and by having at least one parent study and prepare to judge as needed.

6. Overview of Moot Court

   Moot Court simulates oral arguments before an appellate court. Students present legal arguments regarding a fictional case as they focus on convincing the judge(s) to either uphold or overturn a lower court’s ruling.

   Moot Court competition provides students with the unique opportunity to strengthen their reasoning and persuasion skills while increasing their understanding of the US Constitution and the judicial system. This event brings together key skills that are inherent in the goals of NCFCA competition: the ability to research and think substantively about an issue and then persuasively and respectfully converse with others regarding a position on that issue.

7. Round Procedures

   There are two teams of two in Moot Court: the petitioner, who is arguing that the court should overturn (or “reverse”) the decision of the lower court; and the respondent, who is arguing that the court should uphold (or “affirm”) the decision of the lower court. The petitioner, like the affirmative team in debate, speaks first and last in the round.

   NCFCA Moot Court rounds feature forty minutes of total speaking time divided between the two teams. Time is divided slightly differently depending on whether the team is the petitioner or respondent, but each team gets a total of 20 minutes of speaking time. Competitors do not cross-examine each other in Moot Court rounds.

   The substance of the Moot Court topic is divided into two distinct legal issues (see the Round Substance section), and each speaker will only speak on one of the two issues per round. The students will decide among themselves which team member will speak on each issue. The exception to this is that the student giving the rebuttal will be responsible for responding to both issues.

   Unlike all other NCFCA events, Moot Court has a script for how rounds begin and end, and how individuals begin their presentations. This mirrors the script used in the Supreme Court (and in nearly all Moot Court competitions at any level) to open a session of the Court and to begin an oral argument.

8. Judge Interaction

   In contrast with judge protocols for other NCFCA events, Moot Court judges are encouraged to go beyond listening and evaluating. They play the role of Supreme Court Justices and are allowed and encouraged to interrupt the speakers to ask them questions about their arguments or positions. Judges may begin asking questions at any point after the first 60 seconds of a speech and may interrupt at any point during the rebuttal. The competitor’s time does not stop during questions or responses. In addition to being judged on their arguments and presentation, competitors are also judged on the substance, poise, and delivery of their answers to questions from the judges.

   Judges are not required to ask questions of the competitors, and some judges and panels will be “cold” (meaning there are few questions) while other panels are “hot” (meaning the judges pepper the students with numerous questions). Students, therefore, should be prepared to speak for the entirety of their time, but should also be prepared to deviate from planned remarks to address questions from the judges.

   To facilitate judges questioning the students, the judges will be provided a “bench brief.” The bench brief functions as an overview for the Moot Court topic, briefly outlining the major arguments for and against each side of both issues. All judges should plan for an appropriate amount of time to review the material prior to judging.

   NCFCA is committed to supporting competitors and their families in an effort to recruit as many legal professionals, law students, and experienced collegiate Moot Court competitors as possible to serve as Moot Court judges. However, most tournaments will also require parent judges to prepare in advance to serve as judges.

9. Competitor Role

   The primary responsibility of competitors is to argue in a way that demonstrates a thorough knowledge and understanding of both the case, the law, and the US Constitution, and deliver a clear and compelling presentation of their position with utmost integrity and professionalism.

   Competitors should not think of Moot Court presentations as prepared speeches. While they should have major points of information they want to address in their presentations, the most important consideration in any Moot Court round is addressing the questions and points mentioned by the judges. This is an important way that Moot Court differs from all other types of debate: students get real-time indicators of the issues that matter to the judges based on the questions the judges present. Therefore, top competitors will tailor their arguments on the fly to those issues to have the best chance of convincing their particular judge(s) of their arguments.

   In addition to simulating argument before a court of law, this event mirrors the way persuasive conversations work in real life. When attempting to convince someone of a point in a conversation, persuasive individuals do not merely continue with a planned argument when a listener mentions specific reservations about a point. Instead, they adjust their arguments to address those concerns. In the same way, competitors should view Moot Court as a “respectful conversation” similar to one they might have with a senator or congressman, or the President of the United States. Students should approach the round as a conversation with the judge(s) while maintaining the extreme level of respect appropriate for justices of the Supreme Court.

10. Round Substance

    The Moot Court topic is divided into two separate legal issues that the competitors will discuss. The topic and the two issues are presented in the Case Packet.

    The Case Packet contains materials related to a fictional court case, set in a fictional jurisdiction. The materials include the case, which is the fictitious decision issued by the appellate (appeals) court and links to copies of the relevant non-fictional cases cited in the fictitious case.

11. The Closed Universe of Moot Court

    The Moot Court round exists in a “closed universe,” meaning that all of the materials, sources, and information that will be used in the round are included in the Case Packet, except for the U.S. Constitution itself. While students may (and likely should) perform research to get a better understanding of the issues, the only materials that may be used and cited in a competition round are the contents of the Case Packet (including the cases linked within the Table of Cases) and the U.S. Constitution. Studies, reports, articles, and additional cases may be mentioned within the fictitious case or within the real cases cited in the Table of Cases, but material from those mentioned sources may only be discussed to the extent they are discussed within the Case Packet or within the cases cited in the Table of Cases. No other content from those sources is considered part of the closed universe.

12. Competitor Protocols

    Best Practices

    • Exhibit utmost integrity and professionalism through both appearance and presentation.
    • Respond appropriately and respectfully to a judge’s inquiries.
    • Answer a judge’s questions immediately rather than saying, “I will address that later.”
    • Refrain from speaking over a judge. When the judge is speaking, advocates should stop speaking and listen professionally and respectfully.
    • Do not ask judges for a score or for the results of their decision.

    Suggestions

    • Know the material well.
    • Identify the issues and determine which team member will primarily cover each issue.
    • Prepare approximately 10 minutes of material beforehand for each legal issue but be prepared to respond to both questions from the judges and remarks made by opponents. Prepare to be flexible!
    • Prepare a roadmap or outline of how to present all relevant material. This will help with focus when moving between answering questions and presenting the planned case.
    • Practice presenting the case with someone interrupting to ask questions.
    • When arguing as the Petitioner, be sure to decide how much time to reserve for rebuttal before the round begins.
    • Listen carefully to both the judges and your opponent, so that you can facilitate a respectful conversation with the judge panel.

13. Moot Court Scoring Guide

    This guide may be useful to assist you in assigning competitor points on the ballot. Please rate the competitors based on their performance, not based on the case itself or on your agreement with their side of the argument. 

    Organization	Introduces the central issue(s) succinctly Provides and follows a clear outline of argument Transitions smoothly and uses time prudently Concludes with an appropriate request for relief
    Knowledge	Demonstrates thorough knowledge of the record Assesses related constitutional issues Applies relevant legal tests Cites the record and legal cases accurately
    Argumentation	Identifies and emphasizes the central issue(s) Presents well-reasoned arguments Supports arguments with key facts in the record Applies legal authority and analogous case law
    Response	Demonstrates proper deference to the judges Answers questions directly and succinctly Weaves answers into the overall argument Addresses opposing arguments in the rebuttal
    Delivery	Demonstrates proper courtroom etiquette Manages tone, volume, articulation, and pronunciation Remains poised, professional, courteous, and confident Maintains eye contact through limited use of notes

14. Moot Court Round Script and Clerk Instructions

    • Moot Court Round Script and Clerk Instructions 2024-2025