Description: This is a 1 credit graded course to help students develop public speaking and analytical skills. Students will prepare for an undergraduate moot court competition. Class will involve discussion of court cases, brainstorming sessions to help develop arguments, sessions addressing public speaking and style, and practice sessions in which students present arguments, respond to questioning, and grill and provide feedback to other students. Students will be able to get pointers on speaking presentation from local attorneys who volunteer to serve as judges for some of the practice sessions.
Class meets Thursdays in SR 258 starting at 6:00 pm prompt for the first 10 weeks, Aug. 23 to Oct. 25. Students who participate in regional tournaments should note that those tournaments may occur after Oct. 25.

Summary of the moot court case:
The complete list of precedents that students may draw on is listed at the end of the moot court case, which is online (click current case).
The above moot court case for 2018-19  concerns the firing of an instructor at a law school. She had spoken out publicly against the Law school's affirmative action program that favors males over females, with the objective to correct a gender inbalance in its classes. The constitutional issues are a) whether the affirmative action policy denies equal protection of the law; and b) whether firing the instructor violates the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Teams of 2 will be formed. One person on the team will focus on the 1st Amendment issue, the other on the 14th Amendment issue, though both members should be versed on both issues.

Requirements: Students will form teams of two. One member will focus on the First Amendment cases and prepare arguments on behalf of each side in the dispute on that issue, the other will focus on the assigned 14th Amendment issue, and prepare arguments on behalf of each side in the dispute on that issue. However, you should be familiar with cases on both issues. By competition rules, no other cases may be consulted, although students may cite cases that are referred to in the assigned cases. The cases are listed at the end of the official moot court case and are available in Canvas.
Students are strongly encouraged to read the cases over the summer. If you are able to do this, then during the semester you can focus on honing your presentation skills without having to devote time to reading the cases. The Canvas site will have modules set up so that students can write, edit and share summaries of each case. There is also important background material which students with no prior background in constitutional law should find very helpful. In addition, Discussion Boards have been set up for each case so students can ask and answer each other's questions. There is no prerequisite to take this course.
For course credit, students must read and brief cases; participate in speaking exercises in class; prepare arguments on both sides of the issue they are assigned; and participate in practice rounds with local attorneys as judges. Only those students who demonstrate they are prepared for competition will be considered for participation in the regional tournament.
Grades will be based on participation in class including speaking exercises; practice and/or tournament rounds (80%), and quizzes on the cases (20%). Grade will be reduced 1/3 letter for each regular class missed without a documented medical excuse; grade will be reduced 2 full letter grades for signing up for but failing to show up to a practice round or tournament on time without a medical note from a doctor. Failure to show up to a tournament for which you were registered will require reimbursing the Honors College for the cost of registration and any nonrefundable hotel costs.
Travel support to help attend tournaments has been made available thanks to the generosity of the North County Section of the Palm Beach County Bar Association. In addition, students wishing additional reimbursement will need to apply for student government travel funds, which requires following their instructions to the letter and meeting all deadlines.
Contact information: Prof. Mark Tunick: tunick@fau.edu, 799-8670

Readings: All cases are available on Canvas.
Honor Code: Students are expected to adhere to the honor code, http://www.fau.edu/honors/academics/honor-code.php
Online resources:
*American Collegiate Moot Court Association (ACMA) Website
*A video of the 2015 final round on YouTube: students who have never seen a moot court round should view this.
*Speaking don'ts
*SUMMARY OF KEY RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR DECORUM

Schedule

Class begins Aug. 23 and meets Thursdays 6-7:15 pm in SR 258 through Oct. 25. Students selected for the South Atlantic Regional Tournament must attend an additional session to prepare for the tournament and go over logistics.

See Canvas Course for up to date schedule and course materials. Tournament dates: tba

Tentative Schedule (details subject to change)

8/23 Introductory Meeting: Review of Case, moot court guidelines
Rdg: Moot Court case (come to the first class having already read the case). Students should also attempt to read as many of the precedent cases as possible and brief them, prior to the start of the semester.

8/30 Overview of 5th/8th Amendments; practice speaking exercises

Students will be assigned to either the 5th or 8th Amendment.

9/6 and 9/13 classes canceled due to Hurricane Irma. Make up schedule will be discussed 9/21.

9/6 Review of cases: see 'Cases to Prepare' schedule

9/13 Review cases: see 'Cases to Prepare' schedule 

9/20 Brainstorming sessions: be prepared with 2 to 3 main arguments for petitioner and for respondent for your 5th or 8th Amendment issue. We will also discuss some key cases. We will use part of class time to brainstorm and develop these arguments. To explain: each of you have up to 10 minutes during a moot court round to present your case. In that time, you should lay out a 'road map' of 2 or 3 key reasons why your side should prevail on the 5th or 8th Am issue. You will say: 'Respondent should prevail for the following 2 (or 3) reasons' and then begin with the most important.
We will also discuss cases: 
For students focusing on 8th Am: Madrid v. Gomez, Rhodes v. Chapman, Hutto v. Finney.
For students focusing on 5th Am: US v Weber, Rhode Island v. Innis, Penn. v. Muniz.
 

9/27 Brainstorming session: class meets 6-8:30pm to make up for Irma
[students who can't stay from 7:15-8:30 will meet with Prof. Tunick Tue 9/26 from 5:30-6:45; any students are welcome to attend this session in SR 209]

10/4 Practice session: class meets 6-8:30pm to make up for Irma
[students who can't stay from 7:15-8:30 will meet with Prof. Tunick Tue 9/26 from 5:30-6:45; any students are welcome to attend this session in SR 209]

Practice sessions will be held in SR 209, SR 258, SR 268, SR 269. Show up promptly at 6pm to SR 258 for assignments.

10/11 Practice session with attorneys

10/19 Practice Session with attorneys

10/25 Practice Session with attorneys

11/1 Additional section for students participating in the regional moot court tournament

Additional notes:
Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend all of their scheduled University classes and to satisfy all academic objectives as outlined by the instructor. The effect of absences upon grades is determined by the instructor, and the University reserves the right to deal at any time with individual cases of non-attendance. Students are responsible for arranging to make up work missed because of legitimate class absence, such as illness, family emergencies, military obligation, court-imposed legal obligations or participation in University-approved activities. Examples of University-approved reasons for absences include participating on an athletic or scholastic team, musical and theatrical performances and debate activities. It is the student’s responsibility to give the instructor notice prior to any anticipated absences and within a reasonable amount of time after an unanticipated absence, ordinarily by the next scheduled class meeting. Instructors must allow each student who is absent for a University-approved reason the opportunity to make up work missed without any reduction in the student’s final course grade as a direct result of such absence.

Policy on Accommodations In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), students who require reasonable accommodations due to a disability to properly execute coursework must register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) and follow all SAS procedures. SAS has offices across three of FAU’s campuses -- Boca Raton, SU 131 (561-297-3880); in Davie, LA 131 (954-236-1222); in Jupiter and all Northern Campuses, SR 111F (561-799-8585). Disability services are available for students on all campuses. For more information, please visit SAS website at www.fau.edu/sas/.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Center Life as a university student can be challenging physically, mentally and emotionally. Students who find stress negatively affecting their ability to achieve academic or personal goals may wish to consider utilizing FAU’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Center. CAPS provides FAU students a range of services – individual counseling, support meetings, and psychiatric services, to name a few – offered to help improve and maintain emotional well-being. For more information, go to http://www.fau,edu/counseling/

Academic Integrity Policy: Students at Florida Atlantic University are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. Academic dishonesty is considered a serious breach of these ethical standards, because it interferes with the university mission to provide a high quality education in which no student enjoys an unfair advantage over any other. Academic dishonesty is also destructive of the university community, which is grounded in a system of mutual trust and places high value on personal integrity and individual responsibility. Harsh penalties are associated with academic dishonesty. For more information, see University Regulation 4.001 and http://www.fau.edu/divdept/honcol/students/honorcode.html

Classroom Etiquette Policy: In order to enhance and maintain a productive atmosphere for education, personal communication devices, such as cellular telephones and pagers, are to be disabled in class sessions.

Policy on Recording in Class The Honors College of FAU prohibits the audio and/or video recording of class lectures and discussions without the express permission of the instructor. Students who record class lectures or discussions without express permission may be subject to disciplinary action under the FAU Student Code of Conduct, Regulation 4.007; the FAU Code of Academic Integrity, Regulation 4.001; or the Honors College Honor Code. Unless otherwise expressly permitted by the instructor, permission to record class lectures or discussions applies exclusively to the individual student who receives such permission from the instructor whose class is to be recorded. In no case shall recording occur without notice to all students in the class that the lecture and discussions may be recorded. The recording may not be replicated, accessed, utilized by, or made available to any other student or individual without the permission of the instructor. Students who request recording of class lectures or discussions under the Americans with Disabilities Act must contact Student Accessibility Services to obtain such permission or accommodation, and must otherwise comply with the requirements of SAS. Information for the SAS is available at http://www.fau.edu/sas/. This policy remains subject to existing policies, procedures, and regulations of FAU, all of which shall continue to apply. This policy is not intended to address recordings or videos taken by faculty or FAU officials.

updated 5-2-18