• WHO WE ARE

    Duke Moot Court (DMC) is an undergraduate organization that travels the country to debate constitutional law in fully-sponsored tournaments. From California to New York, we've traveled to Moot Court competitions across the country, all while connecting students to faculty and pre-law resources on Duke's campus. DMC is currently on a meteoric rise: we went from unranked, to 23rd, to 10th in the nation over the past 3 years!

    We boast two teams:

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    Oral Advocacy Team

    Prepare and present arguments for both sides (client and the government) of the case problem by traveling to regional to national level competitions.

     

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    Brief Writing Team

    Research, write, and submit a 10-page brief (case analysis essay) to the national brief writing competition under the AMCA.

     

  • BUT WAIT! WHAT IS MOOT COURT?

    Moot Court is a simulation of an argument in front of the United States Supreme Court. Over 100 schools and 500 two-student teams annually compete in a national-level tournament run by the American Moot Court Association (AMCA).

     

    At the beginning of every school year, the AMCA releases a case problem that involves a fictitious client appealing the decision of a state Supreme Court or a Court of Appeals. Students will pair up to research and represent the two constitutional issues (each partner represents one) featured in the case problem. Constitutional issues can deal with gender equality, freedom of speech, due process, and more—nothing is off limits!

     

    Students compete by defending either the client or the government through oral or written arguments at regional to national level competitions.

     

    HOW THE COMPETITION WORKS

    Competing differs depending on how you present your arguments. Oral advocacy and brief writing are considered two different competitions under the AMCA and thus have different rules and procedures despite having the same case problem.

     

    If you're competing in the oral advocacy competition, you must be prepared to argue for both the client and the government's side. The oral advocacy competition features bracket-style regional tournaments across the United States. Therefore, in order to qualify for nationals, you and your partner must travel and face off against other pairs of students from competing schools until you're the last partnership standing in your regional tournament. At the beginning of your round, you flip a coin to decide which side you'll be arguing for. From there, you have twenty minutes to present your arguments and your rebuttal with your partner. You will be judged on a variety of facets, including speaking tone, quality of arguments, and research. This past year, DMC qualified 7/15 teams to nationals in oral advocacy.

     

    If you're competing in the brief writing competition, you will research and compose a 10-page argument with a partner. Unlike oral advocacy, you only need to write for the side you choose to represent, and you and your partner will only compete against partnerships that chose your side. Furthermore, the brief writing competition features no regional tournaments. All brief writers will submit their texts to the national competition. Duke has placed in the top 10 each year since the inception of our brief writing team.

     

    Regardless of what team you're on (and you have the option to join both), you need to read, write, practice, and prepare well in advance. Moot Court spans the fall semester, with regional tournaments beginning to take place in late October. This competition is designed to be friendly to newcomers, and DMC will be there to support all of our new members along the way!

  • ORAL ADVOCACY TEAM

    Our award-winning and nationally-ranked oral advocacy team consists of passionate and well-spoken students who travel across the United States to present their well-researched and logical arguments. Members practice weekly to hone their public speaking, debate, and argument crafting skills. This team features a close-knit and socially-engaged community.

     

    Check out our accomplishments from the past two years:

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    2021-2022 Accomplishments

    • Ranked 10th in the nation
    • 7 of our 15 teams advanced to the quarter-finals at Regionals (including three in the same tournament)
    • All teams that advanced qualified for nationals (the AMCA caps the amount of nationally-qualifying teams per school at 8)*
    • Ranked 2nd in the nation for the amount of nationally-qualifying teams
    • Two teams took the runner-up spot at their regional tournaments

     

    *Three of these teams had no Moot Court experience prior to joining DMC

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    2020-2021 Accomplishments

    • Ranked the 21st best oral advocacy team in the nation
    • Stellar performance catapulted DMC from unranked to the 23rd overall Moot Court team in the nation
    • Qualified six teams for Nationals
    • Ranked 3rd in the nation for the amount of nationally-qualifying teams
  • Brief Writing Team

    This is our newest and smallest team. Started in 2020 by a pair of students who on a whim decided to enter the brief writing competition one week before the deadline (and then took 4th in the nation), our brief writing team is in the process of evolving and expanding as members become more accustomed to a new competition format. The team can most aptly be described as tiny but mighty: our growing number of members pour hours into researching and crafting the perfect argument in prose, with great results achieved so far.

     

    Check out our accomplishments from our first two years of existence:

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    2021-2022 Accomplishments

    • Ranked 10th in the nation with one honorable mention in the national-level tournament
    • More than double the students of previous years
    • Our first year having new students try out for brief writing: you can shape the team

     

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    2020-2021 Accomplishments

    • Ranked 4th in the nation despite choosing to compete one week before the brief writing deadline
    • First year existing as a team: started by a pair of students with initiative and drive

     

  • Our Members

    Executive Board

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    Karina Lu

    President

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    Zhibo Huang

    Vice President

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    Kelly Araujo

    Briefs Writing Team Captain

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    Timothy Gunawan

    Briefs Writing Team Captain

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    Sydney Chen

    Treasurer

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    Shay Naidoo

    Treasurer

     

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    Rachel Collins

    Secretary

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    Angelica Villalba

    Social and Recruitment Chair

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    Kathy Yu

    Travel Team Captain

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    Jackson Streit

    Travel Team Captain

  • OUR ALUMNI

    Regardless of their team, all of our students and alumni are successful and impactful. Past members have gone on to win the Marshall and Truman Scholarships, report for the Wall Street Journal, attend the Wharton School of Business, and study law at Harvard University, Stanford University, Georgetown University, and University of Virginia.

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