Moot Court at UC San Diego
Our Team
We are Moot Court at UCSD—a student-run, nationally-ranked undergraduate moot court team entering our fourth season. As a close-knit group of students keenly passionate about law and oral advocacy, we are dedicated to mastering the art of argumentation and enhancing our understanding of American constitutional law. Our program fosters critical thinking, public speaking, and a deep respect for judicial processes, supported by our rigorous curriculum. Open to all levels of experience, we're committed to excellence and integrity, inviting new members to join our journey of learning, advocacy, and community impact.
What is Moot Court?
01.
Moot Court
Moot Court is a simulated Supreme Court experience where competitors analyze a constitutional legal problem, conduct legal research, prepare written briefs, and present oral arguments.
02.
Oral Advocacy
Oral argumentation is the core of moot court. After months of preparation, competitors present oral argumentation to a panel of judges, who scrutinize and question your argument. The challenge here is to defend your argument succinctly and persuasively.
03.
Law
No oral argument can stand on its own, however, without a thorough understanding of relevant law. Moot court presents an opportunity to dive deep into specific areas of American constitutional law, through which competitors gain a profound understanding of complex case law and legal principles.
04.
Brief Writing
Optionally, competitors may decide to engage in the brief writing competition, for which they must compose formal, appellate legal briefs for the given case problem. A more thorough form of argumentation of a different medium, briefs are similarly critiqued and scored by a panel of judges.
Our Story
We were founded in May of 2021 by our former president, Clayton Allen (’23) [top left]. He approached each of us with his signature pitching talents, asked us to join him in an activity we all had intersecting interests in, and the result? Moot Court at UC San Diego.
Since then we have been continuing to cultivate a group of empowered appellate advocates eager to combine our passions for debate, public speaking, and the study of law. We have gone on to compete at tournaments across the country, from regionals to nationals. And every year, our team only grows bigger and stronger.
How We Operate
☆ STUDENTS LEADING & TEACHING STUDENTS
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Our team was founded by students and is completely managed by students. We consider the coaching process to be a collaborative intellectual effort involving all of our teammates.
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â™› INAUGURAL SUCCESS
Despite our team’s very recent beginnings, many of our team members have taken Top Speaker awards at invitationals, and every year we send several teams to the national tournament. View our full list of accomplishments here.
