Appellate

The appeal process is an integral part of our legal system. An appeal is when a party claims that some error was made in the trial of the case and that party asks a higher court to force the trial court to correct the error

Appellate is designed to introduce them to the legal system, enhance their critical thinking and communication skills, and provide a basic understanding of how legal arguments are constructed and presented. Delegates to practice and improve their skills in legal research, oral advocacy, and argumentation.

Love to debate, Appeals Court is the place for you. Show off your ability to defend your stance, along with your writing skills, so that you and your teammate reverse the decision on a case! Students can also participate as Judges presiding over the court room and make the ultimate decision on who wins the case!

Appellate Resources

25-26 Appeals Court Memo

One Page Appeals Info Sheet

 Precedent Case Comparison Worksheet

Oral Argument Mapping Worksheet

Case Material

This year’s case is The Appeal of Randolph Paolo v. State of Texas. Click the bottoms below to read more.

Delegates are permitted to submit any questions regarding the case, and appellate rules of appellate procedures. Such questions should be submitted below by September 30th, 2025.

An official response by the Judicial Section leaders will be posted to on that same page no later than October 21, 2025.

Rules of Procedure

The YMCA Texas Youth and Government Appellate Competition is governed by the rules set forth below. These rules are designed to ensure excellence in presentation and fairness in scoring all rounds and tournaments. These rules are supplemented by any specific stipulations and comments provided in the current case. These rules are also supplemented by the Rules of Procedure any other documents issued by the Texas Judicial Section Leader.

Briefs

Below you will find briefs cover sheets templates. Before submitting your final brief during District and State Registration please rename the file to include your name and you partner’s(if applicable). The current file name is [Last name, First Name] 25-26 TXYG Appeals Court – Bench Brief or  [Last name, First Name & Last Name, First Name] 25-26 TXYG Appeals Court – Appellant’s & Appellee’s Brief.

  1. Each brief should be:
    a. One to eight pages in length, exclusive of the cover page
    b. Double space
    c. Have one inch margins on each side
  2. The attorney’s brief should consist of the following parts:
    a. Introduction of attorneys
    b. Cover page (this page does not count toward your page limit)
    c. Introduction (statement of who the brief is directed to)
    d. Statement of the Case (two to five sentences)
    e. Statement of Facts (one to two paragraphs)
    f. Issues on appeal (there are two issues and they are clearly stated in your case materials)
    g. Argument (this is the bulk of your brief. It is an overview of your oral arguments and should cite any cases on which you rely.)
    h. Conclusion (one to two paragraphs)
    i. Prayer (tell the court what you want it to do – reverse the lower court or uphold the decision of the lower court)
    j. At the end of the brief, please state your name, and your YMCA affiliation or School. You must also sign your brief, and your electronic signature (this can be just your typed in name) serves as verification that you personally wrote your own brief.
  3. The justice’s brief, called a Bench Brief, should consist of the following parts:
    a. A summary of the relevant facts (approx. one page)
    b. The issues and applicable law (cite any cases on which you rely)
    c. 5 important questions that you may pose to the Appellant; and
    d. 5 important questions that you may pose to the Appellee.
    e. At the end of the brief, please state your name, and your YMCA affiliation or School.
  4. Cover page does not count toward your page limit
  5. You must also sign your brief, and your signature serves as verification that you personally wrote your own brief.

  1. The score on your two briefs (the Appellant’s brief and the Appellee’s brief) will be averaged, and that average will comprise twenty five percent (25%) of your overall score to be used to determine the rankings. If a team only files a brief for one side of the case, their score on that brief will be averaged against a “zero” score for the brief that was not submitted.
  2. Briefs that received after the due date will be assessed a five-point penalty per brief. Briefs received after the beginning of the first round of oral arguments will not be accepted.
  3. Briefs that are longer than allowed or are not in the proper format will have points deducted.

Word Document – Appeals Court – Bench Brief – Justice

Google Doc – Appeals Court – Bench Brief – Justice

Word Document – Appeals Court – Brief – Attorney

Google Doc – Appeals Court – Brief – Attorney

Need help writing your briefs, see some examples from past delegates here

2024 Top Appellate Bench Brief

2024 Top Brief

Attorney Oral Argument

A single, memorized presentation will succeed no more in the YMCA Texas Youth and Government Conference than it would in the actual presentation of a case to a real appellate court. The presentation will be interrupted by questioning from the court and it is critical to success that these questions be clearly addressed, turned to the advantage of the advocate and then used as a transition back into the argument that the speaker wishes to make.

Before each round begins, your team will be assigned to represent either the Petitioner or the Respondent. The Petitioner team presents its arguments first, and is then followed by Respondent’s arguments. The Petitioner will then have the opportunity to provide a brief rebuttal, which will be presented by only one of the two attorneys for Petitioner’s team. Each team has a total of thirty minutes to present their argument. Refer to the Appeals Court Rules of Procedure for more details.

A suggested time division of the arguments is as follows:

  1. Petitioner Lawyer # 1…………………… 13 minutes
  2. Respondent Lawyer # 1 …………………15 minutes
  3. Petitioner Rebuttal ……………………….5 minutes
  4. Petitioner Lawyer #2…………………….12 minutes
  5. Respondent Lawyer #2………………….15 minutes

During the course of the oral arguments, the justices may interrupt and ask you questions regarding your argument. You should answer their questions, and then return to your argument.

Courtroom Script

Each part should be clear, confident, and professional, and may be interrupted by justice’s questions, which teens should be prepared to answer smoothly and return to their arguments.

  1. Introduction
  2. Brief Statement of the Case
  3. Roadmap of Argument
  4. Main Arguments
  5. Answering Questions
  6. Conclusion
  7. Rebuttal (Petitioner only)

Refer to the Appeals Court Rules of Procedure for more details.

Oral Argument Mapping Worksheet

Appeals Court forms to familiarize yourself with

Courtroom Documents

Evaluation Forms

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