This short review demonstrates how the use of American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) case materials, both throughout intercollegiate competitions and in academic courses, can engage and invigorate students while teaching them crucial skills in a way that few other programs or activities can do. The AMTA case provided for the 2017-2018 academic…

Undergraduate public law courses often attract students with competing expectations. Some students enroll in these courses to prepare for law school, while others enroll in the courses to gain a broader understanding of courts in the American system of government. These differing student constituencies can create a dilemma for instructors. A…

This article is drawn from the authors' book, "Judging for Themselves: Using Mock Trials to Bring Social Studies and English to Life," which discusses the effectiveness of mock trials as tools for learning and assessments. Mock trials are effective because they are challenging, authentic projects in which students create and then do…

In the criminal justice system, defendants accused of a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Statistical inference in any context is built on an analogous principle: The null hypothesis--often a hypothesis of "no difference" or "no effect"--is presumed true unless there is sufficient evidence against it. In this…

The purpose of this article is to empower those interested in teaching students powerful and engaging social studies. Through the lens of Supreme Court simulations, this article provides educators with a viable, classroom-tested lesson plan to bring Problem-Based Learning into their classrooms. The specific aim of the lesson is to provide students…

A Harvard Business School-style teaching case can be a powerful pedagogical tool to teach law and ethics to business students because instructors can combine a traditional business case study with Socratic-style dialogue and legal analysis from a managerial perspective. This teaching note includes suggestions for several methods of using the case,…

In this article, we describe the multiple phases of a project that was constructed around the real case of a young Muslim student who wished to be exempted from coeducational physical education on religious grounds. When the school refused her initial request, she decided to take legal measures which ended up in the German Federal Administrative…

This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that promises to affect the lives of many children. Up for debate is whether a law aimed at curbing children's access to violent video games violates their constitutional right to free speech. Signed 5 years ago by Governor Schwarzenegger, the California statute, which has yet to take…

The "fingerpost" is that ubiquitous hand with one extended finger long seen in public places, accompanied by directions such as "to the ladies' toilets" or "exit this way." More recently, that same finger has been widely adopted in electronic media, for the purpose of leading people simply and intuitively to a…

Appellate court simulations, also known as "moot court" and "mock Supreme Court," are widely used in U.S. colleges and universities, especially by law schools. Undergraduate appellate simulation is less widely used and less well known. This document describes some U.S. undergraduate appellate simulation activities and focuses…

A "Civil Litigation Exercise" (a litigation simulation) conducted during the second semester of a first year procedure course at the New England School of Law is described. The purpose of the exercise is to simulate the real world of adversary pleading and practice. The Civil Procedure Litigation exercises are appended. (MLW)

California's school finance system is long overdue for reform. The authors propose a new system that is more rational, more equitable, and, they believe, politically feasible. At its core, their proposal aims to link district revenue to student needs and regional costs while ensuring that all districts are held harmless at current funding levels.…

The University of Minnesota Law School and the Minnesota Supreme Court Office of Continuing Education for State Court Personnel have developed a judicial trial skills program using videotaped simulated trials designed to present participating judges with numerous evidentiary and trial relationship issues. (MSE)

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: The Fresno County Office of Education and the Fresno Unified School District hosted the Mock Trial Competition. The state competition is sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, with cosponsorship from the California State Bar Association and the California Young Lawyer's Association. This…

A course focusing on bankruptcy reorganization uses simulation and role-playing to increase the depth and speed of students' comprehension of the substantive concepts inherent in reorganization proceedings and their place in the process. (MSE)