5 Summative Assessment: Moot Court Stop, Question, Frisk & The Law

1. Faculty-facing section

Assignment Overview and Purpose

Conducting a “moot court” is a more advanced version of an in-class debate, except in this case, students will be set up as Justices in the Supreme Court, with their classmates participating as attorneys. Unlike a debate, where students prepare one side of an argument, exploring the appellate process in the United States allows students to consider arguments from all sides.

Description

The assignment’s goal is for students to actively engage with Terry v. Ohio, the seminal Supreme Court stop and frisk case, by recreating it in a classroom setting. Students may use primary resources from the day’s news, research on Lexis of additional case law, and their creative reasoning to help prepare for their oral arguments. Students may also find audio of previous arguments before the court to be helpful in reviewing prior to the presentation.

This summative assessment will be students’ final assignment for the semester and will require them to synthesize readings and assignments on Terry V. Ohio into a thoughtful, informed argument. To participate in the moot court, students will need to refine the verbal and written argumentative skills they have built throughout the semester.

Course learning outcomes addressed by the assignment

• • Display oral argument skills beyond “simple” debate by engaging in appellate process
  • Demonstrate ability to work as a team, even when presenting as adversaries!  
  • Apply critical thinking, specifically the ability to anticipate arguments and “think like a lawyer”
  • Understand the function of the Supreme Court and the appellate process in U.S. courts.
  • Display comparative writing skills in the form of written opinions
  • Display an understanding of basic legal citation

Materials

• • John Jay e-reader
  • Terry v. Ohio
    
  • Audio of previous arguments before the court to help with review
  • A comparative writing primer to help students prepare their opinion.
  • In class, the professor will also review the appellate process in the United States that occurs before a case goes before the Supreme Court, as well as procedures for oral argument.

Open Pedagogy/Learning Strategie

• • Active learning, Reusable assignment  

2. Student-Facing Section

Assignment Description
 

You will be broken into groups of at least three, with at least one of your group members representing justices of the Supreme Court, and two other members representing the attorneys for both parties involved in this action.  If class size is sufficiently large, multiple justices will be “appointed” to question and prepare final written decisions.

You should be prepared following the oral argument to deliver a written decision of the court to complete the assignment. You need not decide the case the same way the 1968 Court did, but you are free to do so, using the same or different rationales. It is also acceptable to reject the court’s reasoning entirely, and you may do so based on new evidence or case law presented. Although it will be only the justices questioning the attorneys and normally only justices would be issuing a written opinion, note for the purpose of this assignment you all should be prepared to assist with the writing of the opinion, although only one opinion needs to be turned in to complete the assignment. You may find this comparative writing primer helpful when preparing this opinion. I suggest you use Google Docs or another sharing software to collaborate on writing the opinion.

Assignment Process and Timeline

• • You will work in groups to research the case and prepare oral arguments for the court.
  • After completing preparations as groups, you will participate in the moot court.
  • After the moot court has finished, you will each submit a brief (1-page maximum) self-reflection on the coursework and how your understanding of law and society has been affected.
    • While the final piece of writing is short, you should spend time reflecting, journaling, and even talking with friends or family outside the course about your experience to help you think about what you have learned.

Grading Scheme

This final assignment is worth 50 points of your final grade.

The breakdown will be as follows:

20pts Oral Argument Presentation

20pts Final Written Opinion

10pts Self-Reflection

Access: Summative Assessment: Moot Court Stop, Question, Frisk & The Law PDF