Susan J. Ferrell Official Rules
1. Eligibility
All accredited law schools in the United States and abroad are eligible to participate in the Susan J. Ferrell Intercultural Human Rights Moot Court Competition. Every Team must be sponsored by a faculty member or a recognized organization within each school (Moot Court, International Moot Court, International Law Society, etc.) to insure ease of communication. Potential participants shall use a registration form which will specify the registration fee in United States currency; the deadline for receipt of the form is specified in the Competition Schedule of the Competition’s website. Once completed and mailed to the Competition Coordinator, accompanied by the entrance fee, the registration form shall serve as the participant’s notice of intent.
2. Teams
A. Each School will be permitted to send one Team to participate in the Competition.
B. Each Team is required to have between two (2) and five (5) members. To qualify, a student must be enrolled in a J.D. or an LL.M. program, or their equivalents, in the institution to which team he or she will be a member. Students in fields other than law are not eligible to compete. Each Team must have a faculty advisor, who may accompany them to the Competition, along with a team coach.
C. Outside Assistance to Teams - Any Team which receives inappropriate outside assistance will be disqualified from the Competition. All research, writing and editing must be solely the product of Team members. However, faculty members and other Team advisors may provide advice to a Team. Such advice must be limited to: (1) general discussions of the issues; (2) suggestions as to research sources; (3) consultations regarding oral advocacy technique; (4) the location of legal sources; (5) general legal research methods; (6) general commentary on argument organization and structure, the flow of arguments, and format; and (7) advice during Competition elimination rounds as to pleading option or similar strategy.
3. Memorials
3.1 General Procedures
Each participating Team is required to submit two Memorials, one for the Applicant, one for the Respondent.
3.2 Format of Memorials
A. The body of each Memorial is limited to twenty (20) pages in Times New Roman (12 point) font double-spaced; footnotes and headings may be single-spaced.
B. The body of the Memorial includes:
1. Summary of Argument, including Jurisdiction.
2. Argument, including Footnotes.
3. Conclusion.
C. The body of the Memorial excludes:
1. Cover Pages.
2. Table of Contents.
3. Table of Authorities.
4. Questions Presented.
5. Statement of Facts.
D. No annexes or appendices may be attached to the Memorials. The Competition Coordinator has the discretion to provide maps for all teams if he or she feels that maps are a necessary and integral part of the argument. The bench memo will include all applicable treaties necessary for the judges to render proper decisions.
E. The Statement of Facts shall not exceed five (5) pages.
F. All citations are to be done in footnote form and placed at the bottom of the page on which the reference is found. Footnotes are included within the twenty (20) page limit, and must be printed in the same font type and size as the rest of the Memorial. Footnotes are to be used for citation and reference purposes only. No discursive footnotes are allowed.
G. All Memorials are to be type-written and double-spaced on 8 ½” by 11” paper with 1” margins. Times New Roman (12 point) font is required. Headnotes, footnotes, and quotations within the body of the argument may be single-spaced. Microsoft’s Word (IBM Compatible) is the preferred word processing format.
H. Each Memorial is to be reproduced by a Xerox-type copier. No printing or offset is permitted. White is the only acceptable color paper on which Memorials may be copied.
I. All Memorials are to follow the sample title pages as a model, including the copies – no alterations that would set one Memorial apart from another will be permitted. Each Applicant’s cover page shall be red, and each Respondent’s cover page shall be blue.
J. All Memorials are to be bound.
K. Each Team’s Memorial will be identified by a number that will be designated by the Competition Coordinator upon registration. The name of the participating school and the names of any of its representing team members are not to appear on any part of the Memorial. This number system insures anonymity throughout the grading process. To insure that there will be no problems with identification at the time of submission of the Memorials, each team shall include a written letter listing the identification number, the school, the Team members, and the type of computer and word processing program that the Team used to prepare its Memorials. This letter shall be placed in a sealed envelope and returned to the Competition Coordinator in the same packet sent to the Competition Coordinator containing the Team’s Memorial.
3.3 Mailing of Memorials
A. Copies of the Memorials are required to be mailed to St. Thomas University School of Law, Ferrell Competition Coordinator, c/o Roza Pati, Graduate Program in Intercultural Human Rights, 16401 NW 37th Avenue, Miami Gardens, Florida33054. All Memorials must be postmarked by January 14th, 2009. Each Team should send 4 copies of each Memorial to the Competition Coordinator, as well as a copy on computer disk in case additional copies are needed. Copies must have the same format, including the cover page.
B. Memorials are to be mailed through the use of an express courier or express mail service to achieve a maximum delivery of two (2) days.
C. Memorials must be postmarked at the end of the writing period. Memorials postmarked after this date will not be accepted, and the Team will not be permitted to participate in the Competition. There will be no refund of the registration fee in the event this situation occurs.
D. No written materials outside of the Memorials will be accepted.
E. No Team may revise, substitute, add, delete, or in any other manner alter its Memorial after the deadline for submission. However, if a revision is made on a non-substantive part of the Memorial (the substantive part of the Memorial constitutes the argument section) or, for example, if pages are inadvertently left out, the Memorial will be accepted. A discretionary penalty may be imposed by the Competition Coordinator after assessing the facts.
3.4 Penalties
A. Penalty points will be given to Memorials and Teams not following the required format. The penalties are as follows:
1. One (1) point shall be deducted for every page over the twenty (20) page limit.
2. One-half (1/2) point shall be deducted for any other format error, including, but not limited to, the following:
Margins.
Type sets.
Footnotes.
Cover pages.
Identification number.
(Not including the letter with the Memorials.)
3. Where a format error would affect the total number of pages, the Competition Coordinator shall review the computer disks of the participants, and shall deduct the points accordingly as listed above.
4. Oral Argument
4.1 General Procedures
Each Oral Round of each Tournament shall consist of ninety (90) minutes of oral pleadings. Applicant and Respondent shall each be allotted forty-five (45) minutes. Two (2) members from each Team shall make oral presentations during the round. Prior to the beginning of the Oral Round, each Team shall indicate to the bailiff how it wishes to allocate its 45 minutes among (a) its first oralist, (b) its second oralist, and (c) rebuttal (for Applicant) or surrebuttal (for Respondent). No single oralist shall plead more than twenty-five (25) minutes, including rebuttal or surrebuttal. Time allocated for but not used by one oralist may not be used by another oralist, or in the rebuttal or surrebuttal. Any Team member may act as an oralist during any round of the Competition.
Judges may, at their discretion, extend total Team oral argument time beyond the forty-five (45) minute allocation, up to an additional ten (10) minutes per Team. Oralists asked to further expand upon arguments may, in this instance, appear for more than the twenty-five (25) minute individual limit. In the spirit of the Competition, and in the interest of allowing each Team an equal amount of time to present its argument, judges are strongly admonished to allow each Team a similar amount of time for oral argument, consistent with these Rules.
4.2 Pleadings
The order of the pleadings in each Round at all levels of the Competition shall be:
Applicant 1 à Applicant 2 à Respondent 1 à Respondent 2 à
Rebuttal (Applicant 1 or 2) à Surrebuttal (Respondent 1 or 2).
4.2.1 Rebuttal and Surrebuttal
Each Team may reserve up to ten (10) minutes for rebuttal or surrebuttal. As a courtesy to the judges, Teams should announce whether they intend to reserve time for rebuttal or surrebuttal at the beginning of their oral argument, and how much time they intend to reserve. Failure to announce will not waive the right to rebuttal or surrebuttal. Only one Team member may deliver the rebuttal or surrebuttal. Although the Team member delivering rebuttal or surrebuttal must be one of the two Team members who argued during the Team’s main argument, the Team need not indicate prior to rebuttal or surrebuttal which of its two eligible Team members will deliver rebuttal or surrebuttal.
4.2.2 Scope of Pleadings
A Team’s oral pleadings are not in any way limited to the scope of the Team’s Memorial. The scope of the Applicant’s rebuttal is limited to responding to the Respondent’s primary oral pleadings, and the scope of the Respondent’s surrebuttal is limited to responding to the Applicant’s rebuttal. If the Applicant waives rebuttal, there shall be no surrebuttal. No legal issues which were not addressed in the primary pleadings may be raised in the rebuttal or surrebuttal. Although judges are admonished to enforce the limits on the scope of rebuttal and surrebuttal, and may take a violation of this Rule into account in evaluating an oralist’s performance, there is no discretionary or non-discretionary penalty for exceeding scope of rebuttal or surrebuttal.
4.3 Spectators
All Preliminary Rounds shall be open to the public. Teams may agree in advance, and upon consultation with the Competition Coordinator, to limit the number of spectators in a room during Preliminary Rounds. Non-affiliated persons, including friends and relatives of Team members, may attend any Oral Round. Presence of coaches, advisors, or other spectators affiliated with the Team are permitted in the courtroom during an Oral Round involving the Team, as long as it is in conformity with the provisions of these Rules.
4.4 Scouting
No Team member or person directly affiliated with any Team may attend any Preliminary Round other than those in which his or her Team is competing, except as waived by the Competition Coordinator in the interests of the Competition. Violation of this Rule should be brought to the attention of the Competition Coordinator immediately, without disturbing the Oral Round in progress, or immediately after the Oral Round has finished.
There are two types of scouting, both of which are prohibited.
“Direct Scouting” occurs when a Team attends a Preliminary Round involving one or more Teams against which it will compete in a future Preliminary Round.
“Indirect Scouting” occurs when a Team attends a Preliminary Round involving two Teams against which it is not scheduled to compete in the Preliminary Rounds.
Any Team which commits Direct Scouting shall forfeit all six Oral Round Points in the Preliminary Round (or Rounds) in which it competes against the Team (or Teams) which it scouted.
Any Team which commits Indirect Scouting shall forfeit one Preliminary Round. For example, if the Team won four Preliminary Rounds, its total number of wins shall be reduced to three, without other adjustment to its Total Raw Points or Total Round Points. (If a Team which commits Indirect Scouting wins no Preliminary Rounds, there shall be no such adjustment.)
5. Competition Scoring
5.1 Preliminary Rounds
Scoring of the Preliminary Rounds shall consist of two parts: (1) the scoring of the written Memorials; and (2) the scoring of the oral arguments.
Written Memorials Scoring: Each Team Memorial shall be submitted to three (3) Memorial judges. The Memorials shall be reviewed and scored by each judge on a scale of fifty (50) to one hundred (100) points.
Oral Arguments Scoring: Each Oral Round will be scored by a panel of three (3) judges. Each judge shall score each oralist on a scale of fifty (50) to one hundred (100) points.
Three (3) judge panels shall be used to score Memorials and oral arguments.
5.2 Calculation of Scoring Points
Two (2) categories of points shall be awarded to Teams in each stage of the Competition: Raw Score and Round Points. The calculation of Raw Scores shall be subject to the deduction of Penalty Points.
5.2.1 Memorial Raw Scores
The calculation of the Total Memorial Raw Score for each Team per Oral Round is determined by adding together the three (3) Memorial judges’ scores for the side the Team argued in that respective Oral Round. The Total Competition Memorial Raw Score is determined by adding all six (6) scores for the Applicant and Respondent Memorials combined. This total score shall be used for purposes of Best Memorial Awards.
5.2.2 Oral Raw Scores
The calculation of the Total Oral Raw Score for each Team per Round shall be determined by adding the scores of the three (3) judges for each oralist. There will be therefore a total of six scores per Team (2 oralists) per round.
5.2.3 Total Raw Scores
The Total Raw Score for each Round shall be the sum of the Team’s Total Memorial Raw Scores for that round and the Team’s Total Oral Raw Score for that round. The Total Competition Raw Score is determined by adding the Total Raw Scores from each of the four rounds.
5.3 Round Points
5.3.1 Memorial Round Points
A total of three (3) Round Points may be awarded to Memorials in each Round. The individual Memorial judges’ scores for each Team participating in a round are compared to those of the opposing Team. The highest score given by a Memorial judge for each Team will be compared against the highest score given the opposing Team, then the next highest, and finally the lowest. For each comparison, the Team with the higher score will be awarded one (1) Round Point. If a judge rates the Teams equally, the point from that judge shall be split, each Team receiving one-half (.5) of a Judge’s Point.
5.3.2 Oral Round Points.
A total of six (6) Round Points may be awarded for oral argument scores in each Round. The score from each judge’s evaluation of the two oralists combined shall be compared to that judge’s score for the two oralists on the opposing Team. The higher scoring Team per judge per round shall be awarded two (2) Round Points. If a judge scores the Teams equally, the points from that judge are split, each Team receiving one (1) Round Point.
5.3.3 Total Round Points
The Total Round Points for each Round shall be the sum of a Team’s Memorial Round Points and Oral Round Points.
5.4 Determination of Winner of an Individual Round
The winner of the round will be determined by Round Points. The Team receiving the greatest number of the nine (9) available Round Points wins the round. In the event that Teams have an equal number of Round Points, the Team with the highest Total Raw Score shall be declared the winner of the Round.
5.5 Win-loss Record
The overall win-loss record for the Preliminary Rounds shall govern Team rankings. A Team with a win-loss record of 4-0 (4 wins, 0 losses) will rank higher than a Team with a win-loss record of 3-1 (3 wins, 1 loss), which will rank higher than a Team with a win-loss record of 2-2, etc.
5.5.1 Total Competition Raw Scores
If two (2) Teams are tied after comparing win-loss records, the Total Competition Raw Score then controls and the Team having the highest Total Competition Raw Score from the Preliminary Rounds shall be ranked higher. The Total Competition Raw Scores are calculated by adding the Raw Scores from the Team’s four (4) Rounds. There are thirty-six hundred (3,600) possible raw score points.
After win-loss, the Total Competition Raw Score governs even when two (2) Teams that are tied with the same win-loss record faced each other during the Preliminary Rounds, or the Team with the higher Raw Score was not the winner of the Round where the two (2) Teams had faced each other.
5.6 Judges’ Comments
Judges are encouraged to provide direct feedback to Teams regarding their performance at the completion of the Oral Round. They shall not engage in any commentary which may reveal the content of the Bench Memorandum or announce the winner of the round.
5.7 Ranking of Oralists
Total Scores for each oralist in the Tournament shall be determined by adding the raw scores awarded to that oralist in each Preliminary Round in which the oralist argued (adjusted for any Penalties assessed against the oralist), and dividing this sum by the number of Preliminary Rounds in which the oralist argued.
Oralists shall be ranked from highest to lowest. Ties are permitted. If an oralist argued in only one (1) Preliminary Round, he or she is ineligible for ranking.
5.8 Ranking of Memorials
Total Memorial Scores for each Team shall be determined by adding the Total Raw Score of a Team’s Applicant Memorial and the Total Raw Score of the Respondent Memorial, six (6) total judges’ scores, for a possible total score of six hundred (600) points. Team Memorials shall be ranked from the highest Total Memorial Score to the lowest. Ties are permitted in the ranking of Memorials. Scores shall include Penalties.
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