Moot Court
Temple Moot Court was started in the 1950s and is the only honor society at the law school. Moot Court members are selected as second-year law students through the Samuel L. Polsky Selection Competition, which is held during the Fall semester. Polsky participants research and write an appellate brief, then argue both sides of the case before experienced attorneys who serve as appellate court justices. Students receiving the highest scores for brief writing and oral argument are invited to join the Society.
New inductees argue again in a semi-final round, from which the four best advocates are chosen to argue before real judges in a final competition in the law school's well-appointed Duane, Morris & Hecksher Moot Court Room. First and second place winners are chosen during this event, followed by an induction ceremony for new members before law school administrators, faculty and students, and the finest advocates from the Philadelphia legal community.
During the Spring semester, new members enroll in an Appellate Advocacy course in which they research and write a brief on a current United States Supreme Court case that has been not been decided. The case is argued during the I. Herman Stern Competition. The Appellate Advocacy course satisfies the law school's upper level Research Writing requirement. The final grade in the course depends on the quality of the brief and performance in the Stern Competition. The winners of the Final Round are sent to the American Bar Association National Moot Court Competition.
All third year students in the organization must participate in at least one of the many Moot Court competitions offered by law schools throughout the country, assist in the administration of the Polsky and Stern competitions, and attend lectures on appellate advocacy given by professors and guest speakers who are experienced advocates. Second year members who successfully complete Moot Court requirements earn one ungraded credit; third year students earn two credits.
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Famous quotes containing the words moot and/or court:
“For I am shave as neigh as any frere.
But yit I praye unto youre curteisye:
Beeth hevy again, or elles moot I die.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)
“We should have learnt by now that laws and court decisions can only point the way. They can establish criteria of right and wrong. And they can provide a basis for rooting out the evils of bigotry and racism. But they cannot wipe away centuries of oppression and injustice—however much we might desire it.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)