By donating $16 before the end of 2016, you can help send the winners of our Virtual Supreme Court competition to Washington, D.C. to celebrate Constitution Day in September 2017.

Since 2010, through our innovative approach to online legal education with FantasySCOTUS, the Harlan Institute has taught thousands of high school students about our Constitution and the Supreme Court. This year, students can compete in the Fifth Annual Virtual Supreme Court. Through our collaboration with ConSource, students will write briefs and participate in oral arguments concerning the Establishment Clause issues in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley.

Teams of two students choose each side of the issue, write appellate briefs, submit YouTube presentations, and engage in oral arguments against other students using Google+ Hangouts. During the moot court sessions, Harlan and ConSource judges ask the students questions, and challenge them on their briefs. Last term, the final round of oral arguments was held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia before an esteemed panel of judges. The participants debated both sides of Fisher v. University of Texas, Austin.

You can see the winning briefs from 2013 (Fisher I), 2014 (Noel Canning), 2015 (Zivotofsky), and 2016 (Fisher II).

The grand prize for the top two students is a trip to Washington, D.C. to celebrate ConSource’s Constitution Day 2013. Members of the runner-up team will each receive an iPad.

I ask your help to support the prizes for these amazing students. 100% of your tax-deductible donation will be used to cover the costs of bringing the students to our nation’s capital.  The Harlan Institute has no salaried employees, and all of our overhead costs are covered by sponsorships.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Josh Blackman
President, The Harlan Institute