Superior Court of the Pow Wow briefs

The Superior Court of the Pow Wow was a student law club organized in 1870. As a Superior Court it consisted only of first-year students who participated in moot courts.

During much of the nineteenth century, moot court exercises were an integral part of the Harvard Law School curriculum. The intention was to acquaint students with court room practice and to give them experience in the arguing of cases in a clinical setting. When interest in these school-sponsored moot courts began to wan in the 1870s, it was due in part to the rise in popularity of various law clubs, which held moot courts of their own. In the mid-1800s the prominent clubs were Coke, Kent, Bracton, Fleta, and Marshall. The Marshall Club was the oldest, having been founded in 1825. The clubs were made up of students elected from each class based on their social prominence and legal ability, and were often organized according to previous affiliation. For exampleThe Kent Club was made up of students who attended Yale. When it was first organized, members of the Pow Wow Club conducted these arguments among themselves, whereas, in later years one club argued against another.