Ames Semi-Final Round
The Ames Competition is one of the most prestigious competitions for appellate brief writing and advocacy in the country. The students participating in the Semi-Final Round started the competition in fall of this year, and rose to the final four spots through their strong research abilities and excellent written and oral advocacy.
Semi-Final Round oral arguments will be held in the Ames Courtroom at 6:30pm on March 7th and 8th. Teams competing in the Semi-Final Round are below, as well as the briefs submitted for the Semi-Final Round.
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March 7th, 6:30 pm – Lillianfield v. Nathanson
In Lillianfield v. Nathanson, Alexandra Lillianfield, Plaintiff, brought suit against the Governor of Ames, Ava Nathanson. Plaintiff Lillianfield is an Ames citizen who enjoys posting materials to a social media platform known as Snapface. One day, Governor Nathanson posted a press release regarding gun control legislation on her official Snapface page. Lillianfield made numerous public, inflammatory comments on the post, which led the Governor’s office to block her. After the Governor expressed further displeasure that Snapface would allow this to occur, Snapface banned Plaintiff from its site. The district court dismissed the case and Plaintiff appealed. The case presents two issues for review. The first issue is whether the Governor’s decision to block and shadow ban Plaintiff for one week from the Governor’s Snapface page or Snapface’s subsequent decision to deplatform Plaintiff states a claim for a First Amendment violation. The second issue is whether the immunity provisions of the Eleventh Amendment bar the federal court from entertaining jurisdiction over this case.
Presiding Judges
The Honorable Jia M. Cobb, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
The Honorable Raheem Mullins, Connecticut Supreme Court
The Honorable Nancy Waples, Vermont Supreme Court
Appellant Team – Mary Tape Memorial Team
- Qingyue Kathryn Li
- Sheila Panyam (oralist)
- Heather Pincus (oralist)
- Rushi Shah
- Bennett Stehr
- Yiwei Nikol Tang
Appellee Team – Patsy Takemoto Mink Memorial Team
- Derek Choi
- Kunal Dixit
- Daniel Flesch (oralist)
- Phoebe Kotlikoff
- Yusuke Tsuzuki
- Monica Wang (oralist)
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March 8th, 6:30pm – Ames Electric v. Welles
In Ames Electric Co. v. Welles, Ames Electric, Plaintiff, brought suit against R. Joseph Welles, as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Ames State law currently disfavors noncompete clauses in employment contracts generally, but permits state utilities to have workers sign noncompete clauses in certain circumstances. Following the state law, Ames Electric required its employees to sign noncompete agreements. In September, the FTC issued a rule totally banning the use of noncompete clauses across the country, including in Ames State. Ames Electric challenged this rule in federal court, alleging the FTC exceeded its power and that, even if valid, Ames Electric is otherwise immune. The district court granted Ames Electric’s motion for summary judgment, which the FTC appealed. The case presents two issues for review. The first issue is whether Congress, in enacting the Federal Trade Commission Act, authorized the FTC to issue a rule banning the use of noncompete clauses in employment contracts. The second issue is whether Ames Electric is immune from antitrust laws under the state action doctrine.
Presiding Judges
The Honorable Joseph Greenaway, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
The Honorable Gregory Maggs, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
The Honorable Rachel Wainer Apter, Supreme Court of New Jersey
Appellant Team – Roger Fisher Memorial Team
- Emily Miller
- Basundhara Mukherjee (oralist)
- Benjamin Pontz
- Ben Rolsma (oralist)
- Benjamin Richardson
- Theodore Steinmeyer
Appellee Team – Judge Laurence H. Silberman Memorial Team
- Max Alvarez
- Eric Bush
- Richard Dunn (oralist)
- Hayley Isenberg (oralist)
- Jessica Flores
- Brandon Sharp
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