Cal State Long Beach will host the American Collegiate Moot Court Association’s Western Regional this weekend for the eighth year in a row.
Moot court is a simulation of a court proceeding. Each team is made up of two individuals who argue a hypothetical legal case in front of a panel of judges, including lawyers, law faculty, and federal and state judges.
This year’s court depicts a case that is presently before the U.S. Supreme Court and addresses two key issues: whether the use of a visual-enhancement device without a warrant violates the Fourth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and whether life in prison without parole for a minor violates the Eighth and 14th Amendments.
Approximately 36 teams will compete this Friday and Saturday, including five CSULB teams picked by Lewis Ringel, the tournament director. Hybrid teams of CSULB students paired with students from other colleges will also compete, along with teams hailing from a wide range of schools, including Chapman University, University of San Diego, Claremont McKenna College, Patrick Henry College, Brigham Young University-Idaho and Texas Wesleyan University.
Reema Abboud, a member of CSULB’s moot court team, competed in the regional tournament last December and qualified for the national tournament. She has been practicing in front of her advisers since June in order to be comfortable and prepared to argue in front of the judges at the Western Regional this Friday.
The two-person teams do not know in advance which side of the argument they will be defending, so they must prepare to present both sides. Each team has 20 minutes to speak, and each team member must speak for a minimum of seven minutes.
Each team will present its arguments in three to four preliminary rounds on Friday. The top qualifying teams will advance to compete on Saturday. The teams are asked questions by the judges as they present and are graded on the basis of their knowledge of the case, their response to questioning, their forensic skills and their demeanor.
CSULB “mooter” Katie McHale, who will be competing for the first time this weekend, said she is excited to participate.
“Since the beginning of this semester, we have been working on arguing orally in front of a panel of justices to simulate appellate argument,” she said. “We have been preparing for this for so long, and the group as a whole is very hardworking. Those of us who have not competed before are looking forward to seeing what the other teams look like after spending many months arguing against each other.”
Another moot court participant, Richard Bosanko, is new to the team and has been preparing since May to compete this weekend.
“It was overwhelming at first, but there was no stopping. … We’ve worked very hard, both individually and as a team,” he said via e-mail. “We’ve helped each other along the way, and our coaches have been great. Many of us were timid at the beginning of this process, but they have guided us, shaped us and helped us grow. Now, we’re a pretty solid team, and we owe a lot to them. They’ve done their job — it’s our turn now.”
The event will be held in the University Student Union on Friday from 5-9 p.m., and at the College of Business Administration building from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.