National Sexual Orientation Law Moot Court Competition

UCLA is pleased to announce the Third National Sexual Orientation Law Moot Court Competition. The Executive Board of the Sexual Orientation Law Moot Court Competition and the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy cordially invite you to participate in our competition, which will be held February 10, 2007 on the UCLA campus.

The Sexual Orientation Law Moot Court Competition is the only national competition dedicated exclusively to the area of sexual orientation law. This year’s competition will provide an opportunity for competitors to write an appellate level brief on a current topic in sexual orientation law and to argue the case before a panel of judges. The competition is designed to promote and recognize the finest oral and written advocacy on a significant problem in sexual orientation law.

This year’s competition will take place over the course of two weekends. Four rounds of arguments will take place Saturday February 10, 2007: two preliminary rounds, a quarterfinal and a semifinal. The final round will take February 23, 2007 during the Williams Institute’s 6th Annual Update. Finalists will have their final round travel expenses covered by the Williams Institute (does not include coaches).

During the preliminary rounds teams will have the opportunity to argue both on brief and off brief, thus guaranteeing each team a minimum of two rounds of arguments. Scoring for the preliminary rounds will be based on the written brief and both rounds of oral arguments. The top eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals and from there the top four teams will move on to the semifinals with the two highest scoring teams invited to compete in the final round. Scoring in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds will be based only on oral arguments.

The Honorable Raymond C. Fisher, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

October 16, 2006	Registration opens
November 22, 2006	Problem released
December 1, 2006	Registration closes
January 17, 2007	Last day for questions/problem clarification
January 24, 2007	Brief’s due
February 9, 2007	Possible reception / dinner
February 10, 2007	Preliminary, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds
February 23, 2007	Final round of competition

Each team may consist of two or three members. If a team has three members, all must argue in the competition but only two may argue in any given round.

The winning team will receive a cash prize of $500. Prizes of $200 will also be given for the best brief and the best oral advocate.

To register for the competition, please complete the registration form and return it along with a registration fee of $300 (checks payable to UCLA Moot Court Honors Program) to the address on the registration form. Your registration fee includes continental breakfast and luncheon for all student participants and their coaches on the day of the competition. Registration opens October 16, 2006 and closes December 1, 2006. There is a limit of 24 teams for this competition and each school may enter one or two teams. If more than 24 teams register, one team from each school will be guaranteed a slot and the remaining slots will be filled on a first come first serve basis - so register early if your school plans on sending two teams.

Judicial Education Program

The Competition seeks to expose law students, lawyers, and judges to sexual orientation-related legal topics. To that end, the Competition’s Judicial Education Program encourages teams to practice their oral arguments before sitting state and federal court judges. If a team adopts such a strategy, the Charles R. Williams Foundation will pay the team $100 per judge, up to a maximum of five judges. To claim the money, teams must submit a completed “Certification of Oral Argument Practice” form to the Competition Board for each practice round. For additional information about the Judicial Education Program, please email the Competition Board at the email address listed below.

The inaugural competition took place in February 2005. It was a one day competition and involved 13 teams from 11 schools. The problem dealt with same-sex marriage and the final round of competition was presided over by 9th circuit judge Stephen Reinhardt. The team from Chicago-Kent College of Law won.

The 2005-2006 competition evolved into a two day competition with the preliminary rounds taking place in early February 2006. Again the problem dealt with same-sex marriage and participation increased with 17 teams from 14 schools competing. The University of California, Davis and Syracuse University advanced to the final round and argued in front of Steven Levinson of the Hawaii Supreme Court, J. Spencer Letts and Dean Pregerson both from the US District Court of the Central District of California. Syracuse University won.

These sample score sheets are intended to provide guidance as to the scoring criteria for the written brief and oral rounds of competition. The Executive Board reserves the right to modify the score sheets.

The 2006-2007 problem will be posted beginning November 22, 2006. Access information will be emailed to all registered teams.

Competition briefs will be posted here beginning February 2, 2007. Passwords and access information will be emailed to all registered teams.

We have compiled this list to assist you in arranging accommodations for the competition. The hotels are listed in order from closest to furthest from the UCLA campus. We have also included some services provided by each hotel. Make sure to mention UCLA when making your reservation as many of the hotels listed offer a discount for UCLA visitors. Please keep in mind that the listed prices are subject to change. We hope this list is useful, feel free to contact us if you have any questions about hotel location, neighborhoods, transportation or the like!

For additional information or questions regarding the competition please email SOLMootCourt @gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you and from your participation in our competition!