Mooting Workshop
Moot Court Bench
Murdoch University
Outline
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Research and writing presentation
Oral advocacy presentation and demonstration
Written submissions
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6.
Outline:
What is a written submission?
What is the format for written submissions?
What are the elements of written submissions?
Supporting submissions with propositions
Conclusions and sign-off
List of authorities
What a written submission is
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Document that a mooter presents to the court outlining the
key elements of the party’s argument
Structures the mooter’s argument and provides an authority
for each submission made
Essentially: skeletal outline of what mooter will say
First page of the written submission
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Outlines:
the court in which the matter is being heard;
the number of the matter and the year;
the names of the parties involved in the matter;
the party making the submission; and
the name of the counsel making the submission.
First page header example
IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA
NO 005 OF 2010
BETWEEN:
HAPPY BUNS BAKERY PTY LTD
Appellant
AND
SHOPPER CARD LTD
Respondent
__________________________________________________________________________
APPELLANT’S SUBMISSIONS
(Senior Counsel – John Smith)
__________________________________________________________________________
Submissions
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The submissions are the skeleton of your argument
Break it down as SIMPLY and succinctly as possible for the
judges to read
Elements of a submission
Use the IRAC method:
 State the issue
 State the relevant law (provide your authority/case)
 Briefly explain why it applies to the facts
 Draw the conclusion you want the court to make
Submissions
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Usually, around three submissions will suffice
Number of submissions will vary according to the question
and your own style
This will not necessarily reflect the strength/weakness of
your submissions
Conclusion and sign-off
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After the submissions, add a sentence telling the court the
outcome you wish to achieve.
Then add the date and sign off.
List of authorities
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Last page of your written submissions
Start with the same header you have on the first page
Give the cases you have referred to in alphabetic order and
numbered
List of authorities: example (without header)
______________________________________________________________________
APPELLANT’S LIST OF AUTHORITIES
(Senior Counsel – John Smith)
______________________________________________________________________
Legislation
1. Evidence Act 1906 (WA)
Cases
1. Perry v R (1982) 150 CLR 580
2. Makin v Attorney-General (New South Wales) [1894] AC 57
3. Markby v The Queen (1978) 140 CLR 108
4. Pfennig v R (1995) 182 CLR 461
5. DPP v Boardman [1975] AC 421
Before we continue
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Questions?
Next half of the presentation will deal with oral advocacy
and courtroom etiquette.
Oral advocacy and courtroom etiquette
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Outline:
Courtroom etiquette
Oral presentation of argument
General points on public speaking
Courtroom etiquette
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Outline:
Attire and appearance
General rules of etiquette
Seating
Language
Courtroom procedure
Taking appearances
Speaking order
Attire and appearance
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Dress conservative
Men: suit (if you have one) and learn how to wear a tie – all
the way up!
Women: business attire
Hair should be neat
Long hair - tied back
Minimum jewellery
General rules of etiquette
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Never approach the bench when addressing the court
If your opponent makes an outrageous argument, you must
make no facial expressions whatsoever
Have your hands on your lap or on the table – sometimes a
good idea to make notes, even if you are just scribbling
General rules of etiquette (cont.)
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No speaking with co-counsel – discretely pass written notes
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(However, this should not be necessary as you are expected to
work individually and should not need to speak with your cocounsel anyway)
When speaking: hold onto the lectern and keep hand
gestures to a minimum
Less is more!
General rules of etiquette (cont.)
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Avoid condescension and theatre
Modulate your voice to how far the bench is from you
Excessively loud speakers come off aggressive and really
quiet speakers come off timid
General rules of etiquette (cont.)
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At the lectern, avoid copious amounts of paper
If you must, organise a file for the paper, in order to assist
you when you stand up to speak
Seating
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From the point of view of the judge:
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Appellant is to the left
Respondent is to the right
Language
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Refer to your judge as “your Honour”
(To an extent) the more you do this the better
Language (cont.)
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In referring to your Junior or Senior Counsel (also first and
second appellant), say “my learned colleague”
In referring to your opponents, say “my learned friend”
But always address your counsel or opponent through the
judge, not directly!
Courtroom procedure
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When the judge enters, the court orderly will say, “all rise!”
We all rise
We bow to the judge whenever the judge chooses to
acknowledge us
We then sit when the judge chooses to sit
Taking appearances
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Appearances are simply introductions
Judge: “I will now take appearances”
Senior appellant: “May it please the court, my name is
___ and I appear with my learned junior ___ for the
appellant, ___”
The senior respondent then gives appearances
Speaking order
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2.
3.
4.
Senior appellant
Senior respondent
Junior appellant
Junior respondent
Oral presentation of arguments
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Outline:
Case theory
Special role of first/senior appellant
Signposting
Questions from the bench
Common questions asked by judges
Closing
Case theory
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A case theory is a brief and catchy statement that reflects
the central idea of your argument
Case theory (cont.)
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Have a think about whether you have the moral highground, or whether your argument upholds the law without
question, etc
Have a think about logic or common sense behind the law
you’re arguing (this is often referred to as the “policy”
behind the law)
The special role of senior appellant
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There are two things that a senior appellant does that no
other speaker gets to do
Firstly
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They offer the judge a summary of facts
Something along the lines of “Your Honour, before I
proceed, would the bench like a summary of the facts?”
Secondly
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Dispensing of formal citations
After the senior appellant refers to their first case, s/he will
say “Your Honour, I ask that we dispense with full
citations”
Dispensing citations
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The judge will then usually say, “yes, that’s fine”.
The purpose of dispensing citations is so that the senior
appellant and every other speaker may refer to cases in a
abbreviated form
Eg instead of saying
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“In Balmain New Ferry Company Limited and Robertson 1906
volume 4 of the Commonwealth Law Report page 379 at page
384, Chief Justice Griffith held…”
You can just say
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“in Balmain Ferry at page 384, Chief Justice Griffith held…”
Signposting
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“Signposting” is the skill of keeping the judge/s aware of
where you are in your arguments
Firstly
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Outline your arguments for the judge in your introduction
“Your Honour, we submit ___.”
“We support this submission by way of 3 propositions
Firstly… Secondly…” and so on
Secondly
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After the introduction, make it clear to the judge where
you’re going
“Your Honour, moving now to my first submission”
Thirdly
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After making every submission/proposition, make it clear
where you’re going
“Turning now to my first proposition”
“Moving now to my second proposition”
“Turning now to the second submission your Honour”
Signposting
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Remember, mooting is about assisting the judge in
understanding your argument
The judges are your friends
This ties in with questions asked from the bench
Questions from the bench
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This is where the best speakers become apparent
Moots are often won by how well a mooter can answer a
question from the bench
Answering questions is about how persuasive you can be,
not how book-smart you make yourself out to be
Questions from the bench (cont.)
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A good answer to a question requires a good knowledge of
the law and an awareness of the ins and outs of your
argument.
A good answer is one that is clear, simple and answers the
judge’s question
Questions from the bench (cont.)
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A simple and direct answer can easily be achieved by
first stating, “Yes your Honour” or “No your Honour”
Depending on the question, sometimes this is all that is
needed
But beware, it may not be needed at all – remember to
let yourself soak in the question
Questions from the bench (cont.)
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If the judge pushes you to a point where you can’t answer
the question anymore, then admit so
“Your Honour, I cannot take this submission any further”
Treat this as a last resort
Questions from the bench (cont.)
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Always wait for the judge to finish their question
Take a few seconds to pause and think about your answer –
do not panic
When you are speaking and you see that a judge wants to
ask you a question, then pause and let them ask you
Common questions from a judge
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“What are the facts of that case?”
“Where in the case can I find that?”
“Which judge said that?”
“If, hypothetically, we don’t accept your submission, where
does it leave your argument?”
Closing
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A good closing will highlight the good points you have
made in your orals
Also highlight the weaknesses/inconsistencies that your
opponent has or will make.
“In conclusion your Honour…”
Length of the oral argument
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Will vary according to the competition
In this instance, each student will be allowed 20 minutes to
present their argument to the bench
There is no time allotted for rebuttal or surrebuttal
Length of the oral argument (cont.)
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You may ask for additional time if necessary:
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Example: “Your Honour, I see that my time is about to expire.
May I have another 30 seconds to conclude my argument?”
However, you should avoid this if possible
Read the bench. They can say no
General points on public speaking
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Grip the lectern!
Speak slowly. Remember, one can always speak slower.
100 words per minute is a good pace
Maintain eye contact - the best speakers will have maximum
eye contact as they know their arguments inside and out
General points on public speaking (cont.)
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Avoid reading – again, maximum eye contact is a result of a
mooter knowing their arguments inside and out
Further references
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http://jessup.whitecase.com/multimedia/ (contains a series
of moot excerpts from the Jessup competition that are
designed to give new competitors relevant examples of the
most important aspects of mooting.)
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http://www.law.murdoch.edu.au/mcb/publications.html
(further mooting tips and publications produced by the
Murdoch University Moot Court Bench)
And last, but not least…
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Have fun!