29 October 2008

Third Annual George Washington Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition

The student chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society at George Washington University worked with the law school in 2007 to inaugurate the National GW Religious Freedom Moot Court. The competition takes place at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. and consists of two preliminary rounds, a semifinal round, and the championship round. The preliminary rounds are to be held on the afternoon of Friday, February 6, 2009. The semi-final and championship rounds will be held on Saturday afternoon, after which there will be a reception for the participants and judges.

While many moot court competitions involve questions of constitutional law or focus on various aspects of the First Amendment, the National Religious Freedom Moot Court is the first to our knowledge that is specifically dedicated to the issue of religious freedom.

Professors Ira C. Lupu and Robert W. Tuttle, Co-Directors of the Project on Law and Religious Institutions, oversee the drafting of the Moot Court problem. Teams will be assigned to brief one side of the competition problem, but must come prepared to argue both sides.

The competition is open to 24 two-member teams and is limited to 2L, 3L and 4L students from ABA-accredited law schools. In the event that more than 24 team register to compete, teams will be asked to submit resumes and any other information they feel may bear upon their commitment to the competition and their ability to perform (e.g., their team selection process). Teams will then be selected based on the quality of their members and the teams’ commitment to the competition.

For Those Interested

Contact Ronnie Slaven at rslaven@gmu.edu or Allan Robertson at arobertb@gmu.edu.

Go to 2009 George Washington Religious Freedom Moot Court for more information.

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"The Constitution of the United-States is a great and treasured part of my religion . . .
The distortion of any fundamental principle of our constitutional government
would thus do violence to my religion."
--J. Reuben Clark, Stand Fast By Our Constitution, p. 7.

"And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; and as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more of less than this, cometh of evil. I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free."
--Doctrine & Covenants 98:5-8