< oF KE Lx WAY 2, ‘_, 5) y) Cr oe \ [Em > XS VOLUME XVI, NUMBER 2 INNOVATION ABSTRACTS ~. PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL nave 08 (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN + WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION Moot Court Exercise Law, Politics, and the Judicial Process is a course introducing students to public law, the Canadian Consti- tution (particularly the Charter of Rights), and the judicial process. As students experience the interaction of politics and process, they also confront the nagging reality that there is often no “right” answer to complex legal and constitutional problems. When a representative of a local debate organization, the Sir Winston Churchill Society, approached the presi- dent of the college about getting students involved in debate, I decided that my class should implement a pilot moot court exercise. The students were excited; and the Churchill Society representative, a senior partner in one of Canada’s largest law firms, was willing to share his firm’s expertise and resources. € As a class we decided to create a fictional Supreme Supreme Court of Canada (SSCC) to sit atop the existing Supreme Court in the appeal hierarchy. This new court would hear an appeal from an actual decision—rendered by the Supreme Court—that upheld Canada’s criminal prohibition of the sale of obscene materials. Also, the Court would hear interventions by counsel for several interest groups—e.g,., civil liberties associations and women’s organizations. Our SSCC had nine members—seven students, one senior practicing lawyer, and a Justice of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. Students were counsel for the litigants and intervenors, and others acted as journalists and academic commentators. The students recognized the important role played by the media and academe in the judicial and constitutional processes. Members of the law firm briefed students on decorum and the finer points of the law. They collected materials for the students’ use, allowed students to use the firm’s law library, and arranged for the use of a real courtroom on the day of the hearing. Other faculty in my department helped students with their research. The two and a half hour moot court exercise included serious argument, attentive listening, questioning, and solemn deliberation. In the end, a bare majority of justices of the SSCC voted to reverse the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court! Within a week I received the written reasons of the SSCC justices. € Afterward, student comments contained constructive criticisms of the exercise and valuable insights into the judicial process they would not have gleaned from reading textbooks. Students said they needed more time to prepare and practice oral argument within the con- straints of Supreme Supreme Court decorum. Some students confessed that they truly struggled with their positions on the case and were sensitive to the influence others may have had on them in the days leading to the hearing. All said they had developed a fuller appreciation of the law and the judicial process. € Instructors planning a similar exercise should consider the following suggestions: 1. Enlist the support of members of the legal community. Students are keen to work with practitioners in the real world of law. Choose a case that interests students. Prepare the students for the experiences as well as the intellectual issues. Students must grapple with the technicalities of judicial review and perform in an intimidating environment before their peers and senior members of the community. 4. Communicate to students that this exercise is a brief introduction to the real legal world. Students rise to the occasion because they have several reasons to do well, not just a grade. 5. Be flexible. A good relationship with one’s students and good humor can accomplish much. oY Tom Bateman, Instructor, Political Science For further information, contact the author at Mount Royal College, 4825 Richard Road, SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T3E 6K6. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD) Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712