Seventy High School Students From Across the Nation to Participate in National High School Moot Court Competition
Mary Beth Tinker, Plaintiff in Landmark Supreme Court Decision on Student Rights, will Speak
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 23, 2012 – Seventy high school students from around the country will compete in the National Marshall-Brennan High School Moot Court Competition hosted at American University Washington College of Law and the U.S. District Court for D.C., March 30–April 1.
High school students from 14 chapters of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, a program that mobilizes law students to teach courses on constitutional law and juvenile justice in public high schools, will argue the fictional case of J.M. v. State. The case examines whether the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the sentence of life without parole for a juvenile defendant convicted of felony murder.
Mary Beth Tinker, plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court decision Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) that addressed freedom of speech and expression in schools, will give keynote remarks at the event.
The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, named in honor of the late United States Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and William J. Brennan, Jr., mobilizes law students and LL.M. students to teach courses on constitutional law and juvenile justice in public high schools. The National Marshall-Brennan Moot Court Competition serves as an opportunity for high school students participating in Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project to showcase their oral advocacy skills, network, and learn about careers in the law.
The national program is headquartered at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., and the program has expanded to licensed chapters in law schools across the country. The competition is sponsored by American University Washington College of Law and the Herb Block Foundation.
Keynote Speaker:
- Mary Beth Tinker, plaintiff in Landmark Supreme Court Decision, Tinker V. Des Moines Independent School District
Final Round Judges:
- The Honorable Sharon Prost, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- The Honorable Juan Sánchez, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- The Honorable Joel Schneider, U.S. District Court for New Jersey
Media interested in covering this event should contact Megan Smith, (202) 274-4276.
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About American University Washington College of Law
In 1896, American University Washington College of Law became the first law school in the country founded by women. More than 100 years since its founding, this law school community is grounded in the values of equality, diversity, and intellectual rigor. The law school's nationally and internationally recognized programs (in clinical legal education, trial advocacy, international law, and intellectual property to name a few) and dedicated faculty provide its 1700 JD, LL.M., and SJD students with the critical skills and values to have an immediate impact as students and as graduates, in Washington, DC and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu.
