05/12/2022

High School Students Will “Appeal” to Judges in State Moot Court Competition

COLUMBUS (May 12, 2022) - The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE) will host its annual high school Moot Court Competition at the Thomas J. Moyer Judicial Center in Columbus, OH on Friday, May 13. Students will take on the role of appellate attorneys and argue both sides of an original case.

Students representing the following schools from across the state will participate: Zanesville High School (Muskingum County), Mason High School (Warren County), Upper Arlington High School (Franklin County), and Danville High School (Knox County).    

Each year, OCLRE volunteers create a new case, based on issues of constitutional law. This year students grapple with the Fourth Amendment and the challenges of balancing public safety and individual rights. The case centers on fictitious 18-year-old student Kat Hood and an interaction with a police officer in which a shouted accusation from a crowded food court leads to a search of Kat’s belongings. Students will consider whether the novelty crossbow Kat carries qualifies as a “deadly weapon” under the meaning of Buckeye Revised Code, and whether a shouted accusation by an unidentified bystander creates sufficient probable cause for the officer to search Kat’s bag.

Moot Court teams compete in legal brief-writing and oral argument rounds to persuade a simulated Supreme Court how the case should be decided.  The championship round of the competition will be broadcast on The Ohio Channel’s website.

Justice Jennifer Brunner of the Supreme Court of Ohio will preside over the championship round of competition. Fellow panelists include Tiffany Carwile, Esq., Arnold & Clifford; Steven Dauterman, Esq., OCLRE Board President and VP of Fifth Third Bank; Sam Peterson, Esq., Deputy Solicitor, Office of the Ohio Attorney General; and Ben Tracy, Esq., Judicial Attorney, Supreme Court of Ohio.

The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE) is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to improve society by developing citizens empowered with an understanding of our democratic system. OCLRE is sponsored by the Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Ohio State Bar Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation.  The Moot Court program is funded by a grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation. For more information, visit www.oclre.org.

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