The Supreme Court kicked off the 2024 High School Moot Court on Friday, October 18 with the first workshop. Hosted in Guma’ Hustisia’s Assembly Hall, the workshop focused on introducing the student advocates to the local case problem and teaching them how to read a legal opinion.
Law Clerk Nathan Ford presents to advocates and coaches in the hybrid in-person and virtual workshop on October 18.
This year, there are 21 teams from 3 high schools, Marianas High School, Mount Carmel School, and Saipan International School, in the competition. 7 of the teams include returning advocates from the inaugural competition last year. Each team is made up of two high school students. Together, teammates will represent one party in a mock appeal. Each advocate, however, is responsible for covering one legal issue independently.
Advocates will present arguments before a mock NMI Supreme Court in the case Sabrina Katpinteru v. BRAT Air. The case involves a commercial pilot suing her former employer for alleged religious discrimination, while the employer is counter-suing to enforce a non-compete clause against the former employee.
In order to advocate for their mock client, the students must read and understand selected cases from jurisdictions across the United States. The first event of the season on Friday included presentations from the law clerks of the NMI Supreme Court on how to dissect a legal opinion and identify facts or legal rules that can apply to a client’s case. Future workshops in November will expand on this topic by teaching the advocates how to write a persuasive legal brief and present an effective oral argument.
Law Clerk Paige Lehman presents the Lady Hustisia trophy to Marianas High School, including coach Stephen Woodruff and defending champion Julia Taitano, pictured fourth and fifth from the right.
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