The authors of Supreme Court Practice and BNA have agreed to make available for use by law school moot court and legal writing and research programs, at no charge, two chapters from this definitive treatise published by BNA.

These chapters, "The Briefs on the Merits" and Oral Argument," serve as a valuable introduction to persuasive writing and appellate advocacy conforming to the Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States, and thus are helpful in preparation for writing briefs and presenting oral arguments. Topics covered include the content of the brief, statement of the case or facts, the importance of oral argument, and the role of reason in oral advocacy. Legal writing faculty and moot court program organizers are encouraged to distribute these two handouts as supplements to existing resources, or to inform participants of this site, from which files may be printed out. Students should consult their individual law school instructor or competition moot court rules for information specific to their assignment.

The pdf files below may be downloaded and printed out without charge by law school faculty, librarians, moot court program administrators, and law students for legal research and writing or moot court purposes only. For other uses, authorization to print out copies for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by BNA Books, for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to CCC, (978) 750-8400, http://www.copyright.com, ISSN: 1-57018-224-8. Users not registered with the Copyright Clearance Center should contact BNA Books at books@bna.com concerning reprint permissions and related charges. Information on purchasing the book for personal or class use can be found at http://storefront.bnabooks.com/epages/bnastore.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/bnastore/Products/1554

Chapter 13,The Brief on the Merits

Chapter 14, Oral Argument

For information on obtaining professors' desk copies and on ordering copies of Supreme Court Practice for use in classes at the special student price, go to our For Professors Only Web page. For information on ordering Supreme Court Practice at the regular practitioner rate, go to the BNA Books Web site.

Supreme Court Practice, 9th ed (BNA Books) by Robert Stern, Eugene Gressman, Stephen M. Shapiro ,and Kenneth S. Geller