Moot court returns from nationals

Four teams from the moot court program in the political science department competed in the national tournament on Jan. 18 and 19 at the Drake University School of Law in Des Moines, Iowa.

Two of the teams made it to the elimination rounds. Junior political science major Manson Taylor, one of the six students who participated in Iowa, placed among the top 17 orators in the nation.

Taylor was a member of a hybrid team coupled with Anna Accomazzo, a student from Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va.

"We are pleased. Two years ago we didn't have anybody in the eliminations," said Lewis Ringel, the moot court program director and political science lecturer.

Moot court works as a simulation of an appellate court, with two teams with two members each. Both groups argue a hypothetical legal case for about 20 minutes in front of a panel that include judges, law professors, attorneys, consults and law students. There are tournaments at the state and national level.

Ringel said that out of the six students, only Paige McCormack, a senior political science and film major, had previous experience in a national tournament, so "it was a good experience for them."

The teams qualified for the national tournament after finishing fifth in the Western Regional, which was held on the CSULB campus last November.

There are 18 students currently enrolled in the moot court class this semester. They are currently in the fundraising process to attend a tournament in Washington, D.C., in April.

The CSULB moot court will also be hosting a smaller tournament with other Southern California schools in May.

Ringel said that the purpose of this kind of tournament is to get students started with hands-on experience and to be able to have a more direct and structured directions on the arguments.

A national tournament, like the one in Iowa, usually takes five days. The students get to practice for the first day, then the competitions take place until the final elimination on the last day.