We are honored to announce the winners of the
2014 Harlan Institute-ConSource Virtual Supreme Court competition. This year, the students were asked to write briefs, and participate in oral arguments for the case of NLRB v. Noel Canning. The question, was: "
Resolved: What is the scope of the President’s recess appointment power?"
We received over 100 excellent submissions from high school students across the country. We were able to narrow down our brackets to four teams. Each team participated in oral arguments over Google+ Hangouts. Our engaged judges asked the students tough and challenging questions, and they had to think on their feet. In the end, we were extremely impressed with all of the winners.
Here are the final standings of the teams:
- Grand Prize - Michelle McEvoy and Uma Chatterjee, Frisco CTE, Frisco, TX. Here is their brief supporting the Respondent. Michelle and Uma won a free trip to Washington, D.C. to attend ConSource's 2014 Constitution Day celebration.
- Second Prize - Dante Barnes and Peter Kim, Wicomico HS, Wicomico, MD. Here is their brief supporting the Petitioner. Dante and Peter each won an iPad.
- Third Prize - Luke Segovia and Jacob Shaw, Del Valle HS, Del Valle, HS. Here is their brief supporting the Petitioner. Luke and Jacob each won a $100 Amazon Gift Card.
- Honorable Mention - Jennifer Gomez and Jason Cano, Del Valle HS, Del Valle, HS. Here is their brief supporting the Respondent.
Congratulations to all the students. Also, congratulations to their excellent teachers. Ben Ewald at Frisco CTE, Christina Murray at Wicomico High School, and Michael Cunningham at Del Valle HS. We are so proud of these educators who inspire their students to accomplish great things.
Also, we extend our deepest thanks to our excellent judges who graciously volunteered their time to help judge the competition: Bryan Gividen, Timothy Huffstutter, Carl Cecere, and Lawrence Dietz. And always, my deepest thanks to my colleague and friend, Julie Silverbrook, the Executive Director of Consource for her tireless work in promoting constitutional education.
If you like our programs, please consider
supporting the Harlan Institute and
ConSource. We offer all of these programs to students at no cost, and rely on generation donations to cover our costs, and the students' prizes.
You can watch the video of the semifinals, involving the teams from Wicomoco, Del Valle, and Frisco.
The video of the championship round (broken into two segments) between Wicomoco and Frisco is here:
Grand Prize - Frisco CTE, Frisco, TX
Uma Chatterjee was born in Queens, NY and lived there until she was 11. She has lived in the North Dallas area for seven 7 years. She sings competitively. She is considering going to school at American University of the University of Texas at Dallas, and wants to double-major in political science and psychology. Uma wants to work as an attorney focusing on civil liberties, ideally with the ACLU.
Michelle McEvoy was born in Livingston, New Jersey. She plans on attending New York University, majoring in Political science with a minor in international affairs. She is a member of the French club, Future Farmers of America, and the enjoys photography, volunteering.
Uma Chatterjee (left) and Michelle McEvoy and (right).
Second Prize - Dante Barnes and Peter Kim, Wicomico HS, Wicomico, MD.
Dante Barnes is a sophomore at Wicomico High School in Salisbury, Maryland. He is currently enrolled in AP government. He plans on joining the Army after high school.
Peter Kim is a sophomore who attends Wicomico High School in Salisbury, Maryland. He was born in South Korea and likes to play must. He plans on going to college to become a doctor after high school.
The Harlan Institute and The Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource) announce their Fourth Annual Virtual Supreme Court competition. This competition offers teams of two high school students the opportunity to research cutting-edge constitutional law, write persuasive appellate briefs, argue against other students through video chats, and try to persuade a panel of esteemed attorneys during oral argument that their side is correct. This year the competition focuses on Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (II), exploring whether race conscious affirmative action is consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The competition is endorsed by the Center for Civic Education’s We The People Program. Robert Leming, Director of the We the People Program found that our “Competition is relevant for high school students studying the Constitution and Bill of Rights.”
ConSource Executive Director Julie Silverbrook believes “the Competition is an excellent opportunity for high school students to develop core civic and constitutional literacy skills. Students are required to read the text of the Constitution, explore the history behind a contemporary constitutional dispute, and construct persuasive arguments. We know that experiences like the Virtual Supreme Court Competition leave a lifelong impression on participating students and encourages them to stay informed and engaged throughout their lives.”
The members of the grand-prize winning team, the Solicitors General of FantasySCOTUS, will receive a free trip, including airfare and one night of hotel accommodations, to Washington, D.C. to attend the ConSource Constitution Day celebration in September 2016. Winners must be at least 18 years old at the time of the trip (it is no problem if the student has already graduated high school in September of 2016, so long as he or she was in high school during the competition). This offer is open to U.S. residents only. Members of the runner-up team will each receive an iPad Mini. Members of the third and fourth place teams will each receive a $100 Amazon.com Gift card.
Josh Blackman, President of the Harlan Institute, champions the Virtual Supreme Court, which provides an “unprecedented opportunity for high school students to engage in the highest level of appellate advocacy. They research the issues, write briefs, and make oral arguments before our judges. The strong caliber of the winning teams last year really impressed us. We can’t wait to see how the teams perform this year!”
Teachers interested in participating should sign up at HarlanInstitute.org, add an account, read the problem, and get started!
Please send any questions to info@harlaninstitute.org or info@consource.org.
[caption id="attachment_34479" align="aligncenter" width="237"]
Abigail Fisher at the Supreme Court in 2013[/caption]
Information about the Harlan Institute-ConSource Virtual Supreme Court Competition is available at: 
Building on the success of the 
ConSource Executive Director Julie Silverbrook believes “the Competition is an excellent opportunity for high school students to develop core civic and constitutional literacy skills. Students are required to read the text of the Constitution, explore the history behind a contemporary constitutional dispute, and construct persuasive arguments. We know that experiences like the Virtual Supreme Court Competition leave a lifelong impression on participating students and encourages them to stay informed and engaged throughout their lives.”
Teachers interested in participating should sign up at 
