Mini-Moot Court Demonstration Video

This resource demonstrates a mini-moot court.

A moot court is a role-play of an appeals court or Supreme Court hearing. The court is asked to rule on a lower court’s decision. No witnesses are called, nor are the basic facts in a case disputed. Arguments are prepared and presented on a legal question (e.g., the constitutionality of a law or government action or the interpretation of a federal statute). Moot courts are an effective strategy for focusing student attention on underlying legal principles and concepts of justice.

Moot courts are often done with a full complement of judges and attorneys. However, there are benefits to conducting mini-moot courts consisting of three student roles in some instances. Mini-moots generally take less class time to prepare and conduct, each student in the class is fully engaged, and different decisions may be reached and considered.

Included with this resource are the following:

• A short video demonstrating the strategy (watch it above or on YouTube)
• This video is also available in Russian and Uzbek.

For additional information on conducting a mini-moot court, see the Classroom Guide to Moot Courts.