Bailiff Training Session

Thank you for volunteering to bailiff!

If you have any questions about the competition or

about bailiffing, please call or email our Bailiff

Coordinator:

Jackie Martin

614-236-7239

mootcourt@law.capital.edu

2

The Day of the Competition Rounds on Friday:

will be held at the Ohio Statehouse. You will need to enter the

Statehouse through the main entrance on the Third Street side of

the Building. Follow signs to the Atrium. Please check in at the

table marked “Bailiffs” 30 minutes prior to start of the round.

Rounds on Saturday:

will be held at the Supreme Court of Ohio. Stop at the security

desk to check in. Then proceed to Room 109 at the right end of

the long hall. Please arrive 30 minutes prior to start of the round.

Bailiff Responsibilities In a moot court competition, two teams comprised of

two competitors present individual appellate oral arguments to a panel of two to three judges (which is comprised of volunteer attorneys and judges). One team presents arguments on behalf of one party to the

mock lawsuit and the other team presents arguments on behalf of the opposing party.

The moot court judges will rate the competitors based on their advocacy skills and the quality of their arguments.

Bailiffs will: call court to order to start the oral argument;

be present in the hearing rooms to time the competitors’ arguments;

and ensure the judges’ ballots are completed properly.

Before the Argument

When you check in:

You will receive a folder containing

3 ballots for the judges

a Bailiff Worksheet for you

a stopwatch

Pre-printed time cards

You will be assigned to a hearing room

Before the Argument

After you check in:

Go to your assigned hearing room and locate the competitors for both teams.

There will be a Petitioner Team (composed of two students) and a Respondent Team (composed of two students).

Ask the teams to identify themselves by team number. Write the team number on the top of each of the three judges’ ballots located in your folder in the appropriate box (i.e., put the team number for the Petitioners in the box

that says “Petitioner Team Number” at the top of the ballot).

Before the Argument

Ask the competitors to tell you their names and

to identify which competitor will be arguing first

and which will be arguing second.

Write the names of the competitors on all three

judges’ ballots located in your folder in the

appropriate boxes

(i.e., write the name of the first speaker for the

Petitioner’s side in the box indicated for #1 Petitioner).

Write the names of the competitors on your Bailiff

Worksheet located in your folder.

Before the Argument

Ask the competitors how they are going to allocate their speaking time.

Each team gets 30 minutes total for their two speakers. The team can divide the time between the two speakers

however they see fit, so long as no single speaker talks for more than 17 total minutes.

Before the Argument

The Petitioner Team also has the option to present a rebuttal argument after both sides present their main arguments. The rebuttal can last for no more than 5 minutes.

The rebuttal time is part of the entire 30 minutes the team gets for that round.

Ask the Petitioner Team which speaker will be doing rebuttal and how much time they will take for rebuttal.

Record all of this information on your bailiff worksheet.

Before the Argument

Inform the teams that you will wait outside the

room for the judges to arrive.

Once the judges arrive, record the names of the

judges on your Bailiff Worksheet .

Give each judge a ballot

(that you have already filled out with the team numbers

and speaker names).

If a judge has a question about the competition

or needs to recuse him/herself from the

argument, please notify an FYLaw staff member

immediately.

During the Argument

When the judges are ready to enter the room, READ

ALOUD the “Call of Court” at the top of your Bailiff

Worksheet.

The judges will enter the room with you and sit at

the front of the room.

You should also sit at the front of the room, off to

the side so the judges and participants can see

you.

During the Argument

When the first speaker starts his or her presentation, start your stop watch.

During the speaker’s argument, hold up the time cards indicating how much time the speaker has left to argue. This is based upon the specified allotment of time that

specific speaker designated at the beginning of the round.

For example, assume “Petitioner Speaker A” reserved 13 minutes for his initial presentation. After 3 minutes, hold up the card that says 10, indicating that 10 minutes remain for his presentation.

During the Argument

While the speakers must include the rebuttal time as part of the 30 minutes allotted for the entire team’s argument, rebuttal time is treated separately for purposes of the time cards.

For example, assume “Petitioner Speaker B” reserved 15 minutes for his initial argument and 2 minutes for rebuttal. During the initial argument, you would start the stopwatch

and then after 5 minutes, hold up the card that said 10 to indicate that 10 minutes remained in his initial presentation.

During the Argument

Make sure to hold the cards up so that the speaker and the judges may see the cards. Keep each card up long enough to permit the speaker

and the judges to see it.

At the end of the speaker’s reserved time, STAND UP while holding the STOP card. DO NOT SPEAK.

This will ensure that the judges see the time is done.

During the Argument

What happens if the speakers continue to talk after you hold up the stop card? Sometimes judges will permit the speakers to continue to

speak even when time is done.

Continue to stay standing and continue to let the stopwatch run.

Only stop the stopwatch when the speakers have actually finished their argument.

This additional time is NOT deducted from a team’s total 30 minute allocation.

During the Argument

What happens if the speaker finishes and still has

time remaining for his argument?

Stop the stopwatch when the speaker has clearly finished

his argument.

DO NOT add the remaining time to the other team speaker

NOR to the rebuttal time unless specifically directed to do

so by the judges.

During the Argument

At the end of each speakers’ argument, record the

actual length of time that the speaker argued on

your Bailiff Worksheet.

For example, assume “Petitioner Speaker A” who

had reserved 13 minutes for his argument only

spoke 11 minutes. Record the start time as 0:00 and

the stop time as 11:00.

During the Argument

Continue this same process for each speaker and

for the rebuttal argument.

After the Argument

When the competitors have finished their arguments (including the rebuttal), escort the competitors and all spectators from the room.

Be sure to tell the competitors that they will be able to return to the room to receive their critique from the judges after the ballots have been completed.

Wait outside the room (with the competitors) until the judges are finished scoring their ballots.

After the Argument

Once the judges are finished, enter the room and collect the ballots.

Scan over the ballots to make sure that: the judges have scored each category within the minimum

and maximum limits on the ballot and

signed the ballot.

After the Argument

After collecting the ballots, inform the competitors and spectators they may enter the room for the judges’ critique.

Please do not stay for the judges’ critique. Instead, put the judges’ ballots in the folder along with your bailiff worksheet and return all materials to the bailiff table in the atrium.

Thank You!

Just a few final reminders:

Materials located on bailiff website

Please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to the start of the

round

On behalf of all the competitors and all of us at

FYLaw, thanks for taking your time to make this one

of the best moot court competitions in the country!