How to play a simulated-trial game
A Moot Court is a simulated trial hearing, which essentially means that participants pretend to be lawyers. They will be given a fictional case and they then have to prepare their presentations according to the details described in that case. They will do this as part of either the Prosecution or Defence team. Each trial consists of three prosecution lawyers and three defense lawyers. Participants can all work together to prepare their arguments for the hearing, after which they can decide on everyone’s specific roles. All three members of a team will present a portion of the oral argument at the hearing, following the time patterns generally agreed upon. So, either Prosecution 1, 2 or 3 or Defense 1, 2, or 3. Each team member gets a certain time (usually between 5 and 7 minutes per participant).
When all the roles have been decided, the teams of lawyers for the defence and prosecution will each need to decide their tactics. They should discuss what they are trying to achieve, what arguments will be the most effective and who should present each argument.
The arguments of each team will be presented in front of actual judges attending the court hearings, and they will decide which teams advance to the semifinal and eventually final round.
The Judges will be encouraged to ask the lawyers questions during their arguments to help outline the positions of each side in the hearing and to challenge those positions to test the strength of the arguments.
The teams should speak slowly and clearly, concentrate on the best points, stick to the facts and the law, give their speeches a structure (while understanding that questions from the Judges may cause them to argue their points in a different form than what they had planned), keep in mind the available time and to not use insults regarding the other party.
Each Moot Court round is coordinated by a court monitor, who gives the floor to the speakers and keeps the time record, showing cards with the minutes left to argue for each team.
Politeness is key to success. Lawyers should start by introducing themselves and their colleagues.