Saturday, January 26, 2008

Moot Court Blues--Episode 7

There are rules in court, with moot court being no exception. Law schools are different from business schools, for example, because law schools have to answer to bodies such as the state Supreme Court. Business schools can pretty much do what they want in many instances, such as make their grading system and their attendance policies to their own liking.

Some of the rules pertaining to law schools involve the number of hours a student must take to graduate and attendance at these classes. The Supreme Court dictates that in order to get a law degree you have to be present at X number of classes, moot court included.

There have been a couple of instances lately of people being booted from moot court because of excessive absences or tardiness. The rules have been made clear. No one should have been in the dark about it.

Nevertheless, people have ignored the rule and now have to pay the piper. Some have been called on the carpet and at least a couple have been booted from the class, which might mean a delay in their graduation.

Harsh? Maybe so. But after all, we are in law school. And there are rules of court in the real courts that can be more harsh than this, and we need to get used to this reality. In the real world, disobeying a court rule can mean sanctions on us or our clients.

But to be honest, some of the rest of us think how lame. Moot court is an easy class. It can get boring and seem like a huge waste of time. Unless you are presenting, you just have to sit there. But why would you put your graduation in jeopardy for something like that?

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