Words like warrants, the Fourth Amendment, privacy law, unlawful belligerency, the theater of war and “we find this analogous” were exchanged at the American Collegiate Moot Court Association Western Regional Competition this past weekend. Thirteen students from Cal State Long Beach, under the direction of political science lecturer Lewis Ringel, competed in the event held in the University Student Union. This is the fifth straight year that CSULB has hosted the Western Regional.
Michaelyn Thomas, a senior political science major, advanced to the final four of the Western Regional and will compete at the nationals in January at the Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Va.
Thomas is the first CSULB student to earn a bid to the nationals and the first to advance to the regional semifinals since 2003.
Thomas was paired with another student, Will Glaser, from Patrick Henry College, a private Christian college in Purcellville, Va.
The moot court competition, also known as Supreme Court Simulation and mock Supreme Court, simulated an appellate court proceeding. Two teams consisting of two students each presented briefs and oratory before a judging panel that outlined the dimensions of the legal problem at hand. The panels included law students, graduate students, attorneys, professors, four California judges, Senate aides, political and jury consultants, a former dean of Pepperdine Law School and CSULB alumni.
According to the press release, the legal problems for the competition this year were the following: whether the president has the authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution and/or the Authorization of Military Force to conduct warrantless surveillance of American citizens; and whether the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and/or the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act were violated by the warrantless surveillance of American citizens.
“Simply, this is asking if a lower court incorrectly interpreted the law or did the government do something unconstitutional, “Ringel said. “This is judicial review. This particular topic can be a challenge because the case presents a subject and a scenario about which students interested in the law and/or politics generally have strong views.
“Professors like myself have to get students to put their preconceived notions aside and argue both sides with equal fervor, without prejudice or preference.”
Preparation for the Western Regional began at the beginning of the fall semester in Political Science (POSC) 417, Legal Practices: Moot Court, taught by Ringel. Enrollment in POSC 417 is selective and requires department consent.
According to Ringel, in preparation for the competition case, POSC 417 students reviewed and made legal briefs for the 22 cases cited in the competition case’s opinion, practiced their oral arguments, critiqued each other’s work, debated and completed quizzes.
“It was very taxing. None of us ever slept the night before class,” said Paige McCormack, a senior political science and film major enrolled in POSC 417.
“[Moot court] has to be one of the toughest classes in terms of things to do,” Ringel said. “It’s tremendous preparation for law school. You want to find out what law school is like? Take this class.”
Concerning the difficulty of the competition itself, McCormack said, “It’s very hard, especially because you’re being timed on your response. You want to make sure you make a concise argument and clarify everything you can.”
According to Ringel, the competition in the Western Regional is particularly difficult, with many of the national contenders coming from that region.
Though Thomas is currently the only student from CSULB advancing to the nationals, teammates McCormack and Sheila Soroushian, a senior biochemistry major, missed advancing to the semifinals by only .34 of a point after the first day of competition.
McCormack and Soroushian achieved the highest score of the CSULB-only student teams competing, came in ninth place and also earned an honorable mention at the first awards ceremony.
