On February 24th, 2012, 24 students of North Hollywood High School left for the Duke Moot Court Competition held at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Held annually, the competition welcomes high school students from all around the world. Upon acceptance into the competition, students study a Constitutional Law case with a partner, and prepare speeches that they will deliver before a Duke Moot Court club member acting as a Supreme Court Justice. A great majority of these club members who judge the rounds are undergraduate students attending Duke University. Unlike in a debate competition, these judges may interrupt students in order to ask questions regarding the case or their speech, upon which the students are expected to give an answer as quickly as they can before they proceed with their arguments. As nerve wracking it is to deliver a speech in front of an interrogative ‘Supreme Court judge’, the interactive nature of this unique competition offers the students a fun and exciting opportunity to improve their public speaking abilities and critical thinking skills.
“It is one of the best experiences I ever had during my years of high school,” commented Joseph Ludmir, a sophomore of North Hollywood High school who attended the competition for the second time this year. Despite the extremely large time commitment and preparation required during the months before the competition, many students return each year to aim for the winning trophy, or just to experience the thrills of competing against students from across the country again. “I was really nervous because I did not feel ready, but once I began competing round after round, I got used to it and enjoyed answering the difficult questions thrown at me,” stated Harriet Steele, a 9th grader at North Hollywood. Although it was Harriet’s first year, she had the support of the experienced students from her school, and the Duke Moot Court coach of North Hollywood High, Mr. Paul Landau. Mr. Landau, an extremely experienced teacher who coaches both the school’s Mock Trial team and Duke Moot Court teams, works tirelessly each year to help his students perform the best they can. “This has been one of the best years so far, and everyone thoroughly enjoys traveling to North Carolina and spending the weekend there,” he remarked. Mr. Landau loves training the students because despite the great difficulty of the subject, the students enthusiastically follow along.
A truly unique opportunity, Duke Moot Court allows students to experience the world of oral arguments and the complexities of a Supreme Court case. As they build upon these crucial skills for speaking and thinking on the spot, they earn many new important tools that will help them later in life, and possibly lead them to pursue a career in the field of law. Duke Moot Court is a special chance for students to develop teamwork yet realize the importance of time management and individual study, crucial for their later years in college.
