Current Issues

US Supreme Court Simulation

Instructions: In this simulation, you will research and take part in a moot US Supreme Court. Nine of you will play the roles of the current Supreme Court Justices. The rest of you will play the roles of the attorneys who argue the cases before the Court. The case isan actual case that will be argued before the Court this term. Your grade will be based on your research and participation (accuracy being stressed).

The case:

Docket Number / Case Name / Oral Argument / Lower Court / Issues
06-0278 / Morse, Deborah, et al. v. Frederick, Joseph / 03-19-07 / 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (March 10, 2006) / Public schools, 1st Amendment speech

The Justices:

Roberts:

Kagan:

Alito:

Scalia:

Kennedy:

Sotomayor:

Thomas:

Ginsburg:

Breyer:

Each of you assigned a Justice will need to research the person’s life and career. Find out what his/her judicial philosophy- include information from major court decisions the Justice has taken part in to determine their specific philosophy. You will need to prepare a typed two-page report on your Justice. More importantly, you will need to be able to play the role in the simulation.

Attorneys:

Those of you who are attorneys will need to research the case and prepare a brief (both typed and oral) to present to the Court at least one day prior to the beginning of your case’s oral argument.

The typed brief should not exceed one page and should include all of the following:

  1. Title of the Case
  2. Level or Type of Court (Where was the case before reaching the Supreme Court?)
  3. Facts of the Case-
  4. includes actual circumstances, events, or occurrences involved in the case
  5. disputed facts must be resolved at the trial level- appellate courts do not decide questions of fact
  6. appellate court decisions based on facts presented
  7. cases may be sent back to lower court if facts are deemed insufficient

*You do not need to do anything for b, c, or d- just for your own edification!

  1. Issue
  2. An issue is a disputed point or question of law upon which a legal action is based
  3. One or more issues may be present in a single case
  4. Issues are of two types: procedural and substantive
  5. Procedural- involve specific disputed questions of law; these issues are the basis for an appeal to a higher court
  6. may include whether a particular legal motion should be have been granted or denied,
  7. whether certain information was admissible, or
  8. whether injunctive relief should have been granted
  9. Substantive- involve broader questions of legal rights and principles, such as liberty and property interests
  10. Legal Doctrine
  11. Court decisions are based on a particular legal doctrine (rule of law) or principle
  12. You must be able to identify the particular doctrine and determine how it affects the decision of the case at hand
  13. Significance
  14. Who will be affected by this decision?
  15. How will be people be affected by this decision?

Instructions for US Supreme Court Simulation

1. Attorneys must give a copy of their brief to ALL nine Justices one day before

their hearing is to take place. (We will discuss the specifics in class.)

2. Opening argument: Petitioner first, followed by Respondent

a. Presentation should last a minimum of 4 minutes (not to exceed 5

minutes)

b. Justices MAY NOT ask questions during this time

3. Questions: Justices may ask any questions they wish concerning the opening

arguments or the brief presented by the two sets of attorneys. The Justices are to address either the Petitioner or Respondent. The opposing sides MAY NOT address one another. They may only answer questions from the Justices.

4. Closing Argument: Summary and rebuttal. Both sides have a maximum of four

minutes; Respondent first, followed by Petitioner. No questions asked during this time period.

5. Holding: The Justices discuss the caseand the constitutional arguments before

the Court. Justices MUST play the role they have been assigned (to the best of their ability). At the end of the decision, each Justice will cast their vote and give a brief reason why he or she voted that way. During this time, the attorneys may NOT speak for any reason, but are allowed to listen.