55th Annual Moot Court Night

On February 11, 2025, the Cleveland State University College of Law Moot Court Team will host its 55th Annual Moot Court Night. Attendees will be given reading material in the form of appellate briefs written on behalf of Petitioner and Respondent that will provide significant intellectual and practical content that will promote effective and competent legal practice. The reading material will brief the two issues presented before the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court examines two issues. First, whether government-directed sniffs of students in public school classrooms by a drug-detecting dog are searches that implicate the Fourth Amendment. Second, whether a school district’s policy by which it randomly subjects students to sniffs in classrooms by a drug-detecting dog is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.

In this seminar, distinguished judges will offer detailed advice on the finer points of appellate advocacy. Included among the topics they will address are the following: What is the best way to commence an appellate argument? To what extent is it advisable to begin with a “roadmap,” setting forth the major points that you plan to address? What are the best approaches to answering questions from the bench? Under what circumstances, if ever, should a lawyer set aside her prepared remarks in order to devote extra time to addressing a serious concern voices by one or more of the judges? What goals should a lawyer be pursuing during the rebuttal phase of the argument? When handling rebuttal, which techniques may be profitably employed, and which may be safely discarded? What is the best way to express disagreement with a judge? What techniques may be employed to achieve a graceful or forceful conclusion? In addition to speaking generally about the art of appellate advocacy, the judges will put on a demonstration in which they preside over a mock argument and then critique the advocates’ performances. (The roles of the lawyers will be played by law students on the Moot Court team.) Here, the judges will provide a detailed critique of each lawyer’s performance, zeroing in on what was effective and what was not. The judges will also take questions from the audience concerning the finer points of appellate advocacy. 

Reception to follow in the Atrium