University of San Diego School of Law

University of San Diego School of Law

Paul A. McLennon, Sr. Honors Moot Court Competition

Spring 2013

To:My Students

From:Professor Michael R. Devitt

Office: Warren Hall 308D

619-260-2992

General Course Information

Course Description: This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to refine their written and oral advocacy skills by providing instruction in both the appellate process and the proper techniques involved in brief writing and oral argument. This course will focus upon an appellate case and will include discussions with leading scholars in the law, appellate court judges, and practicing attorneys. The Paul A. McLennon, Sr. Honors Moot Court Competition will consist of several rounds of competition, culminating in the Final Round competition to be held on February 27, 2013, before a distinguished panel of judges. Participants in this competition will meet their course obligations by completing a satisfactory moot court brief of required length and form, conducting oral arguments on the selected problem, and attending four mandatory classes.

Office Hours: As Posted and By Appointment

Questions: All inquiries related to the competition or problem should be directed to the McLennon Tournament Coordinators Sara Belvill, Chris Foster, or Crystal Schlanbusch at theMoot Court Office (Warren Hall 114D), before/after lecture, or via TWEN.

Mandatory Classes:

January 18, 2013

January 25, 2013

February 1, 2013

February 8, 2013

Each class will begin promptly at 12:00 noon and will end no later than 1:30 p.m.

Other Important Dates:

January 18, 2012 1:30 p.m.– Problem Released

February 6, 2012 10:00 a.m. – Briefs Due

E-Mail List: Please be sure to add the McLennon 2013 TWEN course to your Westlaw account: This page will be used to communicate important class information.

Course Policies

Attendance: In order to pass this course and thereby receive credit, students must attend all four class sessions and be prepared to actively participate in each of these classes. Failure to attend these classes will result in competition disqualification and no law school credit. No exceptions to this mandatory attendance policy will be allowed, except for extraordinary circumstances, approved in advance by me. If a student does receive permission from me to miss a class, the student shall be required to make up the class by reviewing the class session video and/or completing additional assignments.

Grading: This class will be graded Pass/Fail. In order to receive a passing grade, the student must attend and be prepared to participate in each class session, submit an original brief of appropriate professional quality, and participate in a minimum of two evenings of oral arguments. Although attorneys from the community will grade each student's brief for competition purposes, I will determine whether a student passes or fails the course based upon attendance, class participation, and brief quality. I reserve the right to ask a student to rewrite his or her brief.

Class Topics

January 18, 2013:Introduction

Course Objectives

Overview of the Course and Competition

Grading Policy and Course Requirements

Appellate Process and Appellate Standards of Review

Students to Sign and Submit Affidavits

January 25, 2013: Panel Discussion: Constitutional Substantive Legal Issues

February 1, 2013:Appellate Written Advocacy

Structuring an Appellate Brief

Panel Discussion: Effective Appellate Written Advocacy

February 8, 2013:Appellate Oral Advocacy

Panel Discussion: Effective Appellate Oral Advocacy

Appellate Oral Advocacy Demonstration

Brief Deadline

February 6, 2013: Your final brief is due by 10:00 a.m. Three (3) copies must be turned in to the Moot Court Office (Warren Hall 114D) and an electronic copy via TWEN at or before this time. Electronic copy must be in a PDF format. Late briefs will be penalized as detailed below. No briefs will be accepted past 12:00 noon on this due date.

Oral Argument Schedule

February 18 and 21, 2013: Group One Preliminary Round Arguments

Location: San Diego Superior Court

●Arrive at the Hall of Justice by 5:15 p.m.

●Oral Arguments: 15 minutes each side.

●Petitioner may reserve up to 5 minutes for rebuttal.

●All competitors will be required to argue twice each evening (once for the petitioner and once for the respondent) during this mandatory Preliminary Round.

●Brief scores shall comprise 50% of the overall scores in the preliminary rounds.

●Competitors whose brief score is in the top 50% will be seeded so that they will argue against a competitor whose brief score is in the bottom 50%.

February 19 and 22, 2013: Group Two Preliminary Round Arguments

Location: San Diego Superior Court

●Arrive at the Hall of Justice by 5:15 p.m.

●Oral Arguments: 15 minutes each side.

●Petitioner may reserve up to 5 minutes for rebuttal.

●All competitors will be required to argue twice each evening (once for the petitioner and once for the respondent) during this mandatory Preliminary Round.

●Brief scores shall comprise 50% of the overall scores in the preliminary rounds.

●Competitors whose brief score is in the top 50% will be seeded so that they will argue against a competitor whose brief score is in the bottom 50%.

Thirty-two (32) competitors will advance from the Preliminary Round Arguments to the Second Round Arguments. Those advancing will be posted outside the Moot Court Office and on the TWEN page on February 22, 2013 by 10:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter. Please be sure to manually check TWEN in case a TWEN email notification is diverted to your junk mail folder.

February 23, 2013:Second Round Arguments (Round of 32)

Location: San Diego Superior Court

●Arrive at the Hall of Justice by 9:00 a.m.

●Oral Arguments: 15 minutes each side.

●Petitioner may reserve up to 5 minutes for rebuttal

●This is a single elimination round.

●Competitors whose brief score is in the top 50% of competitors remaining will be seeded so that they will argue against a competitor whose brief score is in the bottom 50% of competitors remaining. Those with a brief score in the upper half may elect to argue for either the petitioner or the respondent.

●The top oral argument score for each argument will advance to the Third Round Arguments.

●Sixteen (16) competitors will advance to the Third Round Arguments. Those advancing will be announced shortly after the completion of the Second Round Arguments.

February 23, 2013:Third Round Arguments (Round of 16)

●Location: San Diego Superior Court

●Immediately following the Second Round Arguments

●Oral Arguments: 15 minutes each side.

●Petitioner may reserve up to 5 minutes for rebuttal.

●This is a single elimination round.

●Competitors whose brief score is in the top 50% of competitors remaining will be seeded so that they will argue against a competitor whose brief score is in the bottom 50% of competitors remaining. Those with a brief score in the upper half may elect to argue for the petitioner or the respondent.

●Eight (8) competitors, those receiving the top oral argument score in each argument, will advance from the Third Round Arguments to the Quarterfinal Round to be held on February 25, 2013. Those advancing will be announced shortly after the completion of the Third Round Arguments.

February 25, 2013:Quarterfinal Round (Round of Eight)

Location: Grace Court Room and Faculty Reading Room (and possibly additional rooms TBA), Warren Hall, University of San Diego

●Arrive at the Warren Hall by 5:15 p.m.

●Oral Arguments: 15 minutes each side.

●Petitioner may reserve up to 5 minutes for rebuttal.

●This is a single elimination round.

●Competitors whose brief score is in the top 50% of competitors remaining will be seeded so that they will argue against a competitor whose brief score is in the bottom 50% of competitors remaining. Those with a brief score in the upper half may elect to argue for the petitioner or the respondent.

●Four (4) competitors, those receiving the top oral argument score in each argument, will advance to the Semi-Final Round. Those advancing to the Semi-Final Round will be announced shortly after the conclusion of this Quarterfinal Round. Also announced at this time will be the pairings for the Semi-Final Round.

February 26, 2013:Semifinal Round (Round of Four)

Location: Grace Courtroom, Warren Hall, University of San Diego

●Arrive by 5:15 p.m.

●Oral Arguments: 15 minutes each side.

●Petitioner may reserve up to 5 minutes for rebuttal.

●Competitors whose brief score is in the top 50% of competitors remaining will be seeded so that they will argue against a competitor whose brief score is in the bottom 50% of competitors remaining. Those with a brief score in the upper half may elect to argue for either the petitioner or the respondent.

●The top two competitors, based solely upon their oral advocacy, will advance to the Final Round.

●Those advancing to the Final Round will be announced the evening of February 26, 2013, following the competition. Also announced on this evening will be the party assignments for the Final Round. The competitor who has the highest brief score will select which side to argue for.

February 27, 2013:Final Round

Location: Institute for Peace and Justice, University of San Diego

●Arrive by 4:15 p.m. Limited tickets will be available for this event.

●Oral Arguments: 20 minutes each side.

●Petitioner may reserve up to 5 minutes for rebuttal.

ADDITIONAL COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS AND RULES

Rule 1 – General

1.1The McLennon Moot Court Competition is open to individual competitors. Participants must be a day or evening second, third, or fourth year J.D. students from the University of San Diego School of Law.

1.2Each competitor must submit a signed affidavit acknowledging his/her participation in the competition and compliance with the rules by 3:00 p.m. on January 18, 2013. Competitors will receive a competitor number upon submitting the signed affidavit. The problem will be released on the TWEN website immediately following the first class on January 18, 2013.

1.3No competitor will be allowed in the Moot Court office without an Executive Board member present. This includes Associate Moot Court Board members who are competing in this competition.

1.4No competitor shall view, read, or use the bench brief at anytime during the competition. A competitor who comes across an inappropriately discarded bench brief shall immediately notify Professor Devitt and a Moot Court Executive Board member.

1.5Each competitor will be randomly assigned to write for either the Respondent or the Petitioner. However, each student is required to be prepared to argue for both the Petitioner and the Respondent.

1.6The University of San Diego School of Law Honor Code applies to the class and all aspects of this competition. All work on this brief must be done on an individual basis and be the original work product of the student submitting the brief. No student may receive assistance, of any kind, from any other person, when completing this brief. Additionally, no student may review or utilize, in any manner, actual appellate briefsor other substantive pleadings/briefs not supplied in the Record or posted on the McLennon Twen page. By way of example only: even though actual appellate briefs for cases upon which this problem is based may be accessible via the internet, students are not allowed to in anyway review or use these briefs. All work on the briefs must be done on an individual basis with no outside assistance.

1.7Questions regarding the problem and written briefs must be submitted to the Tournament Coordinatorsvia TWENno later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 4, 2013. No questions will be answered after this time.

Rule 2 – Briefs

2.1The brief should be the sole work product of each competitor. No competitor shall receive any assistance in writing the brief. Do not attempt to elicit any help from anyone, including professors, attorneys, or other students.

2.2Competitors are prohibited from exchanging briefs at any time during the competition.

2.3Three (3) copies of the brief are due by 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 6, 2013 in the Moot Court Office (Warren Hall 114D). This deadline will be strictly enforced. Competitors must also submit by this date and time an electronic copy, in a PDF format to TWEN. The electronic copy must be identical to the hard copies.

2.4Late penalties will apply to all late submissions. Late penalties will accrue at the following rate: 3 points for every 15 minutes (24 point maximum).

2.5No brief will be accepted after 12:00 noon on the due date.

2.6A competitor’s name must not appear anywhere on the cover sheet or in the brief itself. This is to ensure the integrity of the anonymous grading procedure. Please only utilize the competitor number assigned to you.

2.7Each brief shall include the following sections in this order:

2.7.1Cover page with appropriate case caption (Petitioner: blue cover page; Respondent: red cover page)

2.7.2Table of Contents

2.7.3Table of Authorities

2.7.4Statement of Jurisdiction

2.7.5Questions Presented

2.7.6Standard of Review

2.7.7Statement of Facts

2.7.8Summary of the Argument

2.7.9Argument

2.7.10Conclusion

2.8No page number should appear on the cover page. Rules 2.7.2 through 2.7.6 should be numbered using Roman Numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.). The first page of the Statement of Facts (Rule 2.7.7) and all subsequent pages should be numbered using Arabic Numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). All page numbers must appear at the bottom center of each page.

2.9Each section listed in Rule 2.7 must start on a new page.

2.10Margins: one-inch margins. (top/bottom and left/right)

2.11Page Limit: A minimum of 20 double spaced pagesand a maximum of 30 double spaced pages. The calculation for the page minimum and maximum requirements include only the Statement of Facts, Summary of the Argument, Argument, and Conclusion.

2.12Font: Courier New 12 pt.

2.13Citations may be imbedded in the text or footnotes may be utilized. Footnotes must be typed in Courier New 10 pt single-spaced; and double-spacing should be used between footnotes. All citations must conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.

2.14A minimum of two attorneys or law professors will grade each brief for competition purposes. The average of the brief scores will be used along with the average of the oral argument scores to determine who advances to the Second Round Arguments (Round of 32) and to determine the seeding for all rounds of the competition.

2.14.1In the event that a brief receives two grades with a discrepancy greater than 20 points, that brief will be graded a third time by Professor Devitt, and all three scores shall be averaged.

2.15Each page shall be on standard 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper with printing only on one side.

2.16The brief must be double-spaced.

2.17Briefs will be graded according to the following criteria:legal analysis, application of the law to the case-specific facts, writing style, and brief format. A sample grading sheet is attached hereto.

Rule 3 – Research

3.1Each competitor shall perform his or her own research.

3.2Research should be limited to case law, law review articles, and other relevant sources. Using any other sources may result in an Honor Code violation and disqualification from the tournament.

3.3Competitors shall not view, read, or use any appellate briefs other than what is included in the record or posted on the McLennon TWEN page. Use of these materials may result in an Honor Code violation, a failing grade, and disqualification from the tournament.

3.4Competitors shall not listen to any oral argument proceedings on any issue related to those presented in the problem.

3.5Competitors may discuss general legal and factual issues with each other, only after their individual briefs are filed.

3.6Competitors shall not share specific research with each other. This includes but is not limited to, drafts of the briefs, case names, case citations, law review articles, and reference materials.

3.7All USD law library rules are to be strictly followed.

3.8LexisNexis and Westlaw will be available for use in the competition. However, computer time, information, and research may not be shared with other competitors.

Rule 4 – Oral Argument

4.1Competitors are required to argue both sides of the case in the Preliminary Rounds of competition.

4.2Competitors will argue one side of the case in the Second, Third, Quarterfinal, Semifinal, and Final Rounds of the competition.

4.3Each competitor will be allowed fifteen (15) minutes to present his or her oral argument in all Rounds except the Final Round where each competitor is allowed twenty (20) minutes. Petitioner may reserve up to five (5) minutes for rebuttal, which will be deducted from his or her total allowed time. Please note that reserving rebuttal time is not required but is strongly encouraged.

4.4Competitors will identify themselves for the record as “Counsel.” Judges are addressed as “Justice” or “Your Honor.”

4.5The order of oral argument in each round shall be:

4.5.1Petitioner

4.5.2Respondent

4.5.3Petitioner’s Rebuttal (but only if time is reserved)

4.6Scouting: No friends, family members, or other observers shall take notes for a competitor during rounds. Violation of this Rule will be considered “scouting.” Scouting consists of observation of competitors or receipt of information from anyone regarding any competitor’s arguments. Scouting also includes communication of that information to other competitors. Violation of this rule may subject a competitor to sanctions or penalties, including receiving a failing grade in the class, points being deducted from the brief or oral argument scores, disqualification from the competition, and/or an Honor Code violation.

4.7No competitor shall discuss, outside of his or her actual arguments, the substantive, factual, or procedural issues of the problem with any judge before or during the competition.

4.8No competitor shall be allowed to observe an oral round in which he or she is not participating unless said competitor has been completely eliminated from the competition.

4.9Oral argument scores will represent fifty percent (50%) of the Preliminary Round scores. The brief will constitute fifty percent (50%) of the Preliminary Round scores. Oral argument will be single elimination (i.e., head-to-head), with no weight afforded to brief score, andbased entirely on the decision of the judges for the Second, Third, Quarterfinal, Semifinal,and Final Rounds. A sample oral argument scoring sheet for the Preliminary Round is attached.

4.10Competitors may practice their arguments with each other after the briefs have been submitted to the Moot Court Office.

4.11Competitors for the Preliminary, Second, Third, Quarterfinal, and Semifinal Rounds will be seeded based on their brief scores. Competitors whose brief score is in the top 50% of the competitors remaining will be seeded so that they will argue against a competitor whose score is in the bottom 50% of the competitors remaining. Those with a brief score in the upper half in any given round may elect to argue for the petitioner or the respondent.