Moot Court Team

Moot Court Team

The American Moot Court Association (AMCA) is the largest intercollegiate moot court organization for undergraduate students in the United States, organizing regional and national tournaments to foster skills in legal reasoning, oral advocacy, and brief writing. Each year, the AMCA releases a fictional case problem, typically involving two constitutional issues (e.g., First Amendment rights, Fifth Amendment protections). Case problems often reflect contemporary legal issues, such as free speech or privacy rights, making arguments relevant to real-world legal debates.

Carroll College has a two-semester training program for AMCA. During the Spring semester, PO 380, Appellate Advocacy (2 credits), introduces students to moot court and focuses on detailed analysis of the previous year’s AMCA problem. The objective of the course is to produce students who: 1) Understand the American legal system as it pertains to the litigation of legal disputes. 2) Are able to effectively prepare and deliver persuasive legal arguments before a decision-making audience. 3) Are able to effectively write persuasive legal arguments for law- trained readers. 4) Are able to apply critical thinking to assess the merits of both sides of a legal dispute. Students train in the areas outlined below on Case Preparation, Oral Advocacy & Brief Writing.

During the Fall semester, those individuals who are invited to be on the Carroll College Moot Court Team are enrolled in PO 380, Moot Court (1 credit), which focuses on Training for the AMCA competition and involves the following areas:

PO 380 - Moot Court

Case Preparation

a) Case Problem: Teams must master the case's fact pattern and relevant Supreme Court precedents.
b) Legal Research: Students review controlling case law, summarize relevant facts, and develop arguments for both petitioner and respondent sides. This process involves analyzing judicial opinions, identifying rules of law, and applying them to the hypothetical case.
c) Argument Development: Teams prepare detailed argument outlines, which serve asaids during oral arguments. These outlines include legal analysis of applicable laws and precedents, ensuring students can argue both sides of the case, as they won’t know their assigned side until the competition day.

Oral Advocacy

a) Skill Development: Training emphasizes critical thinking, public speaking, and the ability to analyze issues from multiple perspectives. Students learn to articulate complex legal arguments and respond to judges’ questions, simulating Supreme Court advocacy. Students also learn to argue positions they may not personally agree with, fostering skills in objectivity and advocacy.
b) Practice Rounds and Scrimmages: Teams participate in practice sessions, often called scrimmages, to refine their oral advocacy skills. These sessions simulate competition settings, allowing students to practice presenting arguments, responding to judges’ questions, and maintaining courtroom demeanor.
c) Feedback and Self-Evaluation: Students receive feedback from peers, coaches, and sometimes legal professionals during practice. They focus on improving vocal variation, articulation, body language, and the ability to think on their feet under pressure.
d) Teamwork: Teams consist of two students, each arguing one of the case’s constitutional issues. Training emphasizes collaboration, as partners must coordinate their arguments to present a cohesive case.

Brief Writing

Teams prepare appellate briefs, mimicking the style and substance of real legal documents, including proper citations and formatting. Brief writing involves crafting persuasive arguments based on legal precedent, which are submitted for a separate national brief-writing competition.

Competition Structure for AMCA

Regional Tournaments:

Format: The AMCA sponsors approximately 20 regional qualifying tournaments each year, held in the fall. Each tournament involves two-person teams arguing a fictional appellate case before a panel of judges, typically comprising professors, attorneys, judges, or law students.

Scoring: Judges evaluate teams based on their knowledge of the case, response to questioning, forensic skills (e.g., clarity, persuasiveness), and courtroom demeanor. Each side has 20 minutes for oral arguments, totaling 40 minutes per round.

Qualification: The top 25% of teams at each regional tournament earn automatic bids to the National Championship Tournament.

National Championship Tournament

The National Championship consists of preliminary rounds held in January and final rounds held in February.

Brief-Writing Competition

Teams submit written briefs for a national appellate brief competition, judged separately from oral arguments. Briefs are evaluated by legal professionals based on a national rubric, with scores and feedback due in January.

Moot Court Coaches

Prof Kristine D. Kuenzli, J.D., is an adjunct professor at Carroll College. She previously taught for 9 years in the Department of Law at the United States Air Force Academy where she instructed cadets on a number of undergraduate courses including Law for Air Force Officers, National Security Law and Law and Economics. She also was a mentor and judge for the Moot Court and Trial Advocacy teams at USAFA. A graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law, Prof Kuenzli competed in the National Moot Court Competition, where she was on the second- place regional team and earned Best Oralist honors for the Northwest Region. She recently retired from the Air Force where she served as a Judge Advocate General for more than 26 years. She is excited to serve as the Moot Court coach for Carroll College during the Fall 2025 competition season.

Sam Martin, J.D., is a founding partner in Delli Bovi, Marin & Reed in Helena, MT where he practices criminal defense as well as representing civil litigants and business entities. Prior to his current position he was an Associate Public Defender in the Office of Public Defender in Helena, MT. A graduate of Charleston School of Law, he studied international law at The Hague and appeared on behalf of the South Carolina Attorney General in Post Conviction Relief Trials.

Dan Whyte, J.D., recently retired from his position as Chief Legal Counsel for the Montana Board of Investments. He has a long record of public service, having served as Chief Legal Counsel for the Montana Department of Revenue, Staff Attorney for the Montana Legislative Services, and Chief Legal Counsel for the Montana Secretary of State. Dan also has been a shareholder and partner of a civilian firm, Keller, Reynolds, Drake, Johnson & Gillespie. A graduate of the University of Idaho, he competed on the Moot Court Team and was selected to clerk for the Montana Supreme Court upon graduation.

Moot Court Team Members

John Goodwin

John Goodwin is a Junior from Helena, MT. He is an Environmental Science and English Writing double major and hopes to specialize in water and environmental law in the future. At Carroll, he co-leads the recycling program and enjoys being a percussionist in the Carroll College Pep Band. He is an avid hunter and fisherman and loves being outside.

Ella Kuenzli

Ella Kuenzli is a Senior from Bigfork, MT. She is a Political Science and International Affairs double major and plans to attend law school when she graduates. At Carroll, she is Captain of the Women’s Soccer team, Vice President of the Associated Students of Carroll College and member of Carroll’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Reagan Long

Reagan Long is a sophomore studying Political Science and Pre-Law, with the hopes of entering a career in agricultural law in Montana to focus on issues related to water and property rights. He is originally from Livingston, and grew up attending school in the rural Shields Valley, where he was active in a variety of athletic activities, 4-H, BPA, FFA. He also served as the Montana FFA State 1st Vice President during the 2024-2025 year.

Kate Wilkins

Kate Wilkins is a sophomore from Holladay, Utah. She studies political science, international relations, and pre-law. In addition to being on the moot court team, she is on the speech and debate team, and is an Honors Scholar here at Carroll. Kate aspires to be a human rights lawyer after she completes her schooling.

Please contact Dr. Jeremy Johnson (jjohnson@carroll.edu), or Kristine Kuenzli (kkuenzli@carroll.edu) for more information about the moot court team.