Poly Sci moot court educates outside the box
Steven M. Miller, Jr.
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: Campus News
Three semesters ago, Political Science Professor Mark Kemper recognized the importance of incorporating a "moot court" requirement into his general course outline for his Introduction to Law and Constitutional Law classes.
Instead a class that constitutes with primary grades for the midterm-final, Kemper decided to go against the grain and went with a moot court requirement that would constitute for 50% of the students final grade. In this requirement, he challenged students to write a 10-15 page legal brief of their chosen argument and present this argument before a mock Supreme Court justice panel, consisting of classmates.
Kemper first thought of the idea while serving on the American Collegiate Moot Court Association's Executive Board. He thought that this kind of requirement would enhance the students learning experience beyond the classroom.
''I have become increasingly convinced that students benefit from the hands on, experimental learning that the moot court provides,'' said Kemper. ''It is something that promotes their ability to develop arguments, think critically, reason by analogy and engage in public speaking.''
This semester Kemper challenged students in his POLI-285 (Intro. to Law) and POLI-344 (Con. Law- Rights of the Accused) classes to engage within the text of the majority and dissenting opinions he provided.
The case that his Introduction to Law class deals with revolves around the 8th Amendment's issue of "no cruel or unusual punishment."
It addresses a problem with a Los Angeles ordinance that prohibits individuals from sitting, lying, and sleeping on the public streets and sidewalks 24 hours a day, and can be enforced against the homeless.
The case that his Rights of the Accused class is dealing with concerns Fourth Amendment doctrine with regards to legal searches and seizures.
The defendant (Scott), signed his rights away in a document that allowed for "any search at any time of the day or the night," while he was under a pre-trial release.
Instead a class that constitutes with primary grades for the midterm-final, Kemper decided to go against the grain and went with a moot court requirement that would constitute for 50% of the students final grade. In this requirement, he challenged students to write a 10-15 page legal brief of their chosen argument and present this argument before a mock Supreme Court justice panel, consisting of classmates.
Kemper first thought of the idea while serving on the American Collegiate Moot Court Association's Executive Board. He thought that this kind of requirement would enhance the students learning experience beyond the classroom.
''I have become increasingly convinced that students benefit from the hands on, experimental learning that the moot court provides,'' said Kemper. ''It is something that promotes their ability to develop arguments, think critically, reason by analogy and engage in public speaking.''
This semester Kemper challenged students in his POLI-285 (Intro. to Law) and POLI-344 (Con. Law- Rights of the Accused) classes to engage within the text of the majority and dissenting opinions he provided.
The case that his Introduction to Law class deals with revolves around the 8th Amendment's issue of "no cruel or unusual punishment."
It addresses a problem with a Los Angeles ordinance that prohibits individuals from sitting, lying, and sleeping on the public streets and sidewalks 24 hours a day, and can be enforced against the homeless.
The case that his Rights of the Accused class is dealing with concerns Fourth Amendment doctrine with regards to legal searches and seizures.
The defendant (Scott), signed his rights away in a document that allowed for "any search at any time of the day or the night," while he was under a pre-trial release.
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