Claire Housley, Emma Stinson, Jordan Marcum, and William Schubert are the four finalists advancing to the final round of the Van Vleck Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition. Scheduled for Thursday, January 30, 2025, in Lisner Auditorium, the 75th annual competition will be judged by a final bench consisting of the Hon. Kentanji Brown Jackson, the Hon. David Barron, and the Hon. Roopali Desai.
The Van Vleck Competition, named after William C. Van Vleck, GW Law’s longest-serving dean, is the largest and longest-running advocacy competition for upper-level students. Through this competition, students hone their oral and written advocacy skills by submitting written briefs and presenting oral arguments during mock appellate litigation. Fact patterns for the competition are based on relevant constitutional issues predicted to go before the U.S. Supreme Court. This year’s fact pattern, written by Dean Alan Morrison and two 3L students, was based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Haaland v. Brackeen. The fact pattern considered equal protection and administrative law issues regarding the adoption of an Indian child under the Indian Child Welfare Act.
One hundred twenty-four students, representing the most competitive Van Vleck Competition to date, worked for months on the fact pattern, researching the issues and meeting with coaches weekly. Students remarked that although the issues presented in the fact pattern were interesting, certain factors made the problem more challenging. As one of the writers of the fact pattern remarked, “By changing the facts and considering recent developments in the law, we structured the issues to contemplate changes in the Court’s jurisprudence dealing with administrative law and equal protection issues.” Specifically, the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of the Chevron doctrine, which allowed deference to a regulatory agency’s reasonable interpretation in the case of federal legislative ambiguity, had implications for the students participating in Van Vleck as they researched the issue presented in the fact pattern.
After months of hard work, the four students who have advanced to the final round are excited, honored, and nervous to compete before such an esteemed panel of judges. Both teams will diligently practice throughout the month of January, and they are excited to have their family, friends, and the GW Law student body in attendance on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
