Mock Court Tangles with Case Before U.S. Supreme Court
On Monday, February 29, the two Court and the Constitution classes came together to present a mock Supreme Court hearing of the case known as Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. It was a particularly exciting mock court because arguments in the case opened two days later in the actual U.S. Supreme Court.
Teacher John Lyons called the case “the most significant abortion rights case before the Supreme Court in a generation.” The student mock court consisted of twelve justices and eight lawyers, with four on each side of the argument. The lawyers read the lower court opinions and several briefs in the case as they prepared their own, submitting them to the student “court” before oral arguments.
About seventy students and faculty witnessed the arguments, which were thought-provoking and occasionally funny. Proceedings ran smoothly as each side presented well-crafted arguments while the justices peppered them with questions. Deliberations on the case continued in class throughout the week.
Groton's Constitutional history class has conducted an annual mock court for twenty-one consecutive years. Students are waiting with great anticipation to hear the decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court and to see how it compares with the Groton mock court decision, which narrowly ruled in favor of Whole Woman's Health, finding that a Texas law placing new requirements on abortion providers unduly burdened women seeking access to abortion.—Suzy K. '16
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