Return of a statewide high school moot court competition may be in the works
Then Justice Barbara Pariente speaks with students competing in the last Florida High School Appellate Brief Writing & Moot Court Program at the Florida Supreme Court in 2018. The Bar’s Law Related Education Committee is hoping to revive the competition.
The Law Related Education Committee is hoping to revive a popular high school moot court competition that features finalists making mock arguments before the Florida Supreme Court.
The Program Evaluation Committee is scheduled May 19 to weigh the committee’s proposal to revive the “Florida High School Appellate Brief Writing & Moot Court Program.”
The state competition requires high school contestants to write briefs and present oral arguments before an appellate judging panel based on a fictitious constitutional case.
“The final round is held at the Florida Supreme Court where competitors go before Florida Supreme Court justices to argue their case,” according to a staff analysis.
The program traces its history to 2009 when the Law Related Education Committee formed a partnership with the Florida Law Related Education Association. The partnership with The Florida Bar ended when FLRA was dissolved in 2019.
The last competition, in 2018, had American Heritage Boca Delray and rival American Heritage Plantation presenting mock arguments before Florida’s seven Supreme Court justices.
Under the latest proposal, the Florida Supreme Court’s Justice Teaching program would host the event annually, according to the analysis.
If the Program Evaluation Committee approves the proposal, the Board of Governors could sign off the next day at a meeting in Tampa.
