Cal State Long Beach hosted the ninth annual American Collegiate Moot Court Association (ACMA) western regional competition this weekend.
After seven months of preparation, 40 teams from colleges across the country, including five teams from CSULB, competed in the ACMA western regional competition Friday and Saturday.
Moot court, also known as a mock Supreme Court trial, is a simulation of an appellate court proceeding.
This year’s hypothetical case is similar to the eight Amendment cases presently before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case asks if whether the U.S. government exceeded its constitutional powers by enacting the Affordable Health Care Act and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forbids states to refuse to legally recognize same-sex marriages.
“The cases are always timely, but this year particularly so,” said Lewis Ringel, director of CSULB’s moot court program and lecturer in political science. “Both are controversial issues in the same case and they are both very timely.”
The competition continued anyway despite a few delays and rumors of a mandatory evacuation caused by the campus-wide power outage on Saturday morning.
In response to the police presence, Nina Flores, a CSULB moot court graduate assistant, said, “We’re ignoring them. The students have worked so hard for this. It’s important that we finish the regional competition today.”
At this weekend’s moot court competition, 42 person legal teams competed as either petitioners or respondents of a hypothetical legal case in front of a panel of law professionals, which included former California Gov. and Attorney General George Deukmejian.
Students did not know which side of the case they would be defending. They prepared to support both arguments and were judged based on their knowledge of the case, their responses to questioning and their overall presentation of those arguments.
Senior political science major and third year moot competitor Jose Reynoso said, aside from attending school full-time and working at a law firm, he has spent hundreds of hours preparing for the competition.
“It was a lot of research, studying and memorization, but what I’ve learned is valuable,” he said.
Although Reynoso’s team lost the competition Saturday, he said participating in moot has enhanced his communication and critical thinking skills, and his performance in other classes.
Senior Amy Price, communications major and competition participant, recommended students interested in law school join the program.
“Not only does this look good on our résumés but its preparation for the work we’ll be doing in law school,” Price said. “It’s a heavy workload, but it’s rewarding at the same time.”
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.