League Policies
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.