Invitations to the competition will be mailed out in the next week or so, but (due to an explosion of interest in the competition) GW Law’s Moot Court Board has seen fit to release the following teaser of this year’s competition:
For over 20
years, the Harold H. Greene & Joyce Hens Green National Security Law Moot
Court Competition at The George Washington University Law School has provided law
students from across the country a unique opportunity to argue difficult—and
vital—legal issues raised by the ever-evolving subject of national security law
before judges from the national security law community. Recent competitions have featured issues
ranging from the legality of extraordinary rendition, and the First Amendment
repercussions of the Espionage Act, to the constitutionality of the “material
support” provisions of the Antiterrorism Act. Adjudicated by an array of jurists and
practitioners who specialize in national security law, the competition has
developed into one of the premier fora for our nation’s budding advocates to
hone their oral advocacy skills in this continually growing field. In addition, the competition’s final round has
traditionally featured prestigious judges and experts in the field, including:
- Federal
appeals court and district court judges, such as the Hon. Patricia Wald (D.C.
Circuit)
- William
Barr, a former Acting Attorney General of the United States
- James
Woolsey, a former Director of Central Intelligence
- Former directors of the FBI
- Former solicitors general of the United States
Please check
this site in the coming weeks for
announcements of this year’s final round judges!
Each year, the
competition focuses on an aspect of national security law that is both
“cutting-edge” and topical, in hopes of offering competitors a chance to delve into
an area of the field that is both exciting and of real relevance. The details of this year’s competition
problem will not be made public until the problem’s official release in
November—but I am able to inform you
that the burgeoning world of “cybersecurity”
will be featured.
Contestants
are eligible for awards and prizes recognizing their excellence in brief
writing, oral advocacy, and overall team performance. In addition, all competitors are invited to
attend the competition’s official dinner on Saturday, February 9 (which is
traditionally held at a downtown DC venue) to network and exchange “war
stories” from the first day of the competition.
The three
rounds of the competition will take place from Saturday, February 9 through
Sunday, February 10, and include a preliminary round, a semifinal round, and a
final round. Each team will compete
twice in the preliminary round, guaranteeing that all teams will have multiple opportunities to showcase their
oral advocacy skills. In addition,
all competitors are encouraged to attend the final round, when awards will be
distributed and final arguments will take place in front of a panel of highly
esteemed judges.
Interested
teams are asked to register as soon as their invitation is received! To ensure that your school is on the invite list, or to request to be added to the list, please contact us at NSLMootCourt@gmail.com. The registration fee is $400 per team, or $650
for two teams from the same law school. All registrations must be received by Friday, November 16, 2012.
Participation is limited to the first 26
teams that respond. A maximum of two
teams per school may register. The
competition problem will be released on November 19, 2012, and competitor
briefs will be due in final form no later than January 17, 2013.
Please direct all inquiries regarding the
competition to NSLMootCourt@gmail.com. We’re
looking forward to seeing you in February.