Skip to main content

Competition Information & Important Dates

Willamette-Sponsored Events

Moot Court members are required to compete in at least one of the following competitions (not including Negotiations) and volunteer for at least one other of the following competitions each academic year.

  • National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC)

    August 29 - September 1, 2022

    The American Bar Association’s NAAC is limited to Moot Court Board members only. The top team(s) will represent Willamette University College of Law at the national level.

    Examples of past competitions include:

    • An appeal of a criminal conviction in which evidence of the crime was obtained in a warrantless search. An officer investigating a potential drug distribution ring seized his electronic keyfob from the defendant. The key was then taken from his possession and one officer, not knowing which apartment the defendant lived in,swiped the key past four different apartment entry pads. Petitioner contended that search violated the Fourth Amendment. The respondent contended that the search fit one of several exceptions to the warrant requirement.
    • An appeal of a dismissal of a civil action against a state agency and the agency director for wrongful termination. The petitioner argued that she was terminated due to the protected speech of her husband. The respondent argued that the case was subject to qualified immunity and therefore could not be held liable for damages.
  • Don Turner Criminal Trial Competition

    October 10-13, 2022

    The Don Turner Competition was created to honor the memory of Professor Donald H. Turner, who contributed an immense amount of time and effort to the success of the Moot Court Board. Professor Turner’s family traditionally joins the Moot Court Board each fall to celebrate his memory and the accomplishment of the winning team.

    This competition is open to all second and third-year law students, regardless of Moot Court membership.

    Examples of past competitions include:

    • Defendant possessed and sold cocaine to an undercover police officer. Defendant argued entrapment.
    • Defendant was charged with the murder of a pawnshop owner during the commission of a felony. Defendant argued that the key witness, a jailhouse snitch, was unreliable and acting in self-preservation.
  • American Association for Justice Civil Trial Competition (AAJ)

    November 14-17, 2022

    AAJ is a civil trial competition that is limited to Moot Court Board members only. The top two teams have the ability to represent Willamette at the Student Trial Advocacy Competition (STAC), a Regional/National Competition sponsored by the American Association for Justice.

    Examples of past competitions include:

    • Plaintiff brought action against a restaurant owner, whose employees removed him from the establishment and assaulted him outside the front entrance. The focus of Plaintiff’s claim was on the Defendant’s liability for the battery and the negligent hiring of the employees who attacked him. As an affirmative defense, Defendants argued that Plaintiff assumed the risk when he knowingly consumed alcohol that could negatively impact his coordination and behavior. Defendants argued that the injuries sustained by Plaintiff were the direct and proximate result of his own negligence.
    • During a hockey game, Plaintiff was injured when he was hit on the head in a collision with an opposing player. The hockey club’s athletic trainer examined Plaintiff after the collision and then Plaintiff returned to the game. In a subsequent hockey match, Plaintiff was hit in the head and lost consciousness. Plaintiff suffered a severe concussion causing long-term memory loss and other symptoms. Plaintiff claimed that Defendant failed to adequately diagnose Plaintiff and that because Plaintiff was already suffering from a concussion when Plaintiff received a blow to the head during the subsequent hockey match, Plaintiff sustained potentially career-ending injuries. Defendant asserted as a defense that Plaintiff's claims were barred by the doctrines of comparative negligence, contributory negligence and assumption of the risk.
  • Edward J. Harri Open Appellate Competition

    January 23-26, 2023

    The Edward J. Harri Open Appellate Competition is open to all second- and third-year law students, regardless of Moot Court membership. This competition offers students interested in improving their appellate advocacy skills a competitive forum and interactive experience with other students and various members of the local legal community.

    Examples of past competitions include:

    • Petitioner was a high school teacher who was terminated due to content posted on his personal blog. The issue on appeal involved public employee status.
  • Spaulding Civil Trial Competition

    February 20-23, 2023

    The Bruce Spaulding Competition is a civil trial competition that is limited to Moot Court Board members only.

    Examples of past competitions include:

    • Two students got into a bar fight leading to injuries. One student sued the bar owner under a dram shop law.
    • Plaintiff sued the defendant and his employer claiming a negligent car-motorcycle accident caused him serious injuries and limited the plaintiff’s income potential. Defendant countered that plaintiff’s negligence was the sole cause of the accident.
  • Negotiations Competition

    March 17, 2023

    The Negotiations Competition is the newest in the WUCL Moot Court lineup. This competition offers students an opportunity to participate in a simulated legal negotiation in which both parties must attempt to come to a resolution to satisfy their clients’ needs. Fact patterns are distributed a day or two in advance and the competition itself occurs over half a day. ACADEMIC CREDIT IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THIS COMPETITION.

    Examples of past competitions include:

    • VIATEX: A negotiation between a pharmaceutical company and the company which manufactures the plastic bottles attempting to maintain the professional relationship as the pharmaceutical company tries to cut costs.
    • Super Slipster: A personal injury case in which a man paralyzed by an accident on a child’s slide sues the manufacturer. The negotiation represented an attempt at a resolution between the two parties short of trial, on the recommendation of the trial judge.
  • First-Year Appellate Competition (FYAC)

    Pending

    Every spring, first-year students write an appellate brief in conjunction with their legal research and writing class. The Moot Court Board then hosts FYAC where these students present oral arguments based on their briefs.

    Examples of past competitions include:

    • Rivera v. Hudson: Whether the trial court was correct in holding that Mr. Rivera spoke as a citizen about matters of public concern. Whether the trial court correctly held that this employer’s interest in having an effective and efficient workplace outweighed any rights of free speech that Mr. Rivera had, even if his speech was protected.
    • Does Tinker v. Des Moines lawfully apply to a student’s off-campus speech generally and under the specific facts presented? Did the school’s discipline of the Appellant student violate her First Amendment rights?

External Competitions

Students are encouraged to represent Willamette Law and Willamette Moot Court by participating in external competitions, in addition to those hosted by Willamette. Participation in these competitions may or may not require membership in Moot Court. Below, you will find a list of registration deadlines and competition dates that have been compiled to help students plan their semesters.

Please note, it is important for students to conduct their own research on the specific competition rules and requirements and to confirm they have the most accurate and up-to-date information.

External Competitions

Willamette University

Moot Court Board

Address
Willamette University College of Law
245 Winter Street SE
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.
Phone
(503) 370-6380