Moot Court Mania at Huntington High School

There was recently an outbreak of “moot court mania” at Huntington High School.  Eight different cases. Eight different judges. Sixteen different teams came together over a three day period in the School Heritage Museum courtroom and proceeded to serve justice in the best possible way.

Teacher Suzi Biagi’s Business Law and Personal Law 2 classes culminated the last weeks of their courses with a modified, embellished reenactment of “real life” cases where the decisions could go either way.

The civil cases ranged from dog bites to product liability; neighbors with fence issues; car accidents that included an armed bandit, break-ins to retrieve a piano and defaulting on car loans.

“Each case has its own set of circumstances, evidence and outcomes,” Ms. Biagi said. “The teams and cases were picked randomly. The students worked together on their strategies, their embellishments and all the pertinent documents, which included crafting openings statements, direct and cross examinations and finally closing arguments. When the  teams were not competing in their roles as attorneys and witnesses they acted as the jurors. The feedback was tremendous. Upon reflection, the students stated that moot court was one of their favorite projects of the year.”

The judges included attorneys from Suffolk and Nassau, two administrators and a teacher. Guest judges were Kathleen Evers Esq., Laura Leavy Esq., Jason Moroff Esq., Jeffrey Bloomfield Esq., Don Savata Esq., Huntington High School Principal Rochelle C. Brown and Assistant Principal Patricia Avelli and teacher Lorraine Raha.

“The moot court competition is a wonderful way for students, who after completing a year of law coursework, to practice their craft, critical thinking and courtroom savvy,” Ms. Biagi said.

The cases always finish with four decisions; one from the jury another from the judge, Ms. Biagi’s decision and the “real” decision made by one of the State Supreme Courts.