{"id":3260,"date":"2026-07-16T00:29:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T00:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/bsa\/?page_id=3260"},"modified":"2026-07-20T09:02:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T09:02:48","slug":"ames-brief-archive","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/bsa\/ames-brief-archive\/","title":{"rendered":"Ames Brief Archive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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<\/div>\n

The Ames Brief Archive<\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n

Briefs from past Ames competitions, collected as a resource for competitors and for students interested in appellate advocacy. Each entry lists the questions presented, the topics at issue, and the facts of the case.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

\n Jump to  <\/span>\n 2026<\/a>\n 2025<\/a>\n 2024<\/a>\n 2023<\/a>\n 2022<\/a>\n 2021<\/a>\n 2020<\/a>\n 2019<\/a>\n 2018<\/a>\n 2017<\/a>\n 2016<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2026<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Semi-Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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United States v. July<\/div>\n
Criminal Procedure · Venue · Miranda<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether venue for a charge of international parental kidnapping lies in the Eastern District of Ames.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether statements made to a state social worker without Miranda warnings must be suppressed.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Appellant Brief<\/a>Appellee Brief<\/a>Appellant Reply<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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United States v. Davis<\/div>\n
Fourth Amendment · Sentencing<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether a person retains a reasonable expectation of privacy in a tent on public land.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether a prior conviction qualifies as a crime of violence for a sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a).<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Appellant Brief<\/a>Appellee Brief<\/a>Appellant Reply<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2025<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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State of Ames v. Welles<\/div>\n
Fifth Amendment · Takings · Sovereign Immunity<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether the Fifth Amendment creates a self-executing cause of action to redress an alleged taking.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether the Eleventh Amendment bars plaintiffs from seeking “just compensation” directly under the Fifth Amendment from a State in federal court absent a waiver of sovereign immunity.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Petitioner Brief<\/a>Respondent Brief<\/a>Reply Brief<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2024<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Semi-Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Jax v. Wildwood<\/div>\n
Civil Procedure · Appellate Jurisdiction · § 1983<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether a plaintiff may appeal the dismissal of one claim after voluntarily dismissing all remaining claims without prejudice.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 malicious-prosecution claim must be dismissed where the officer had probable cause to arrest for a separate offense.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Appellant Brief<\/a>Appellee Brief<\/a>Appellant Reply<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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United States v. Vance<\/div>\n
Fourth Amendment · Sentencing Guidelines · Deference<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether a suppression-hearing record must be reviewed in the light most favorable to the government, and whether the district court erred in denying the motion to suppress evidence from the protective sweep.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether the district court erred in treating the United States Sentencing Commission’s commentary as controlling when applying a sentencing enhancement.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Appellant Brief<\/a>Appellee Brief<\/a>Appellant Reply<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Welles v. Doe<\/div>\n
Second Amendment · Immigration<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether a noncitizen unlawfully present in the United States but with substantial ties to the country is part of “the people” with Second Amendment rights.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether the government can disarm noncitizens unlawfully present in the United States but with substantial ties to the country, consistent with the history of the Second Amendment.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Briefs coming soon<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2023<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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OSHA v. Federici Contracting, LLC<\/div>\n
Administrative Law · APA · Article III<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether 5 U.S.C. § 706(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act requires courts to vacate agency rulemakings found to violate the Act.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether, if so, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2) violates Article III of the U.S. Constitution by requiring federal courts to exceed their judicial power.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n \n \n \n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Petitioner Brief<\/a>Respondent Brief<\/a>Reply Brief<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2022<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Energon, U.S.A. v. Ames County Board of Commissioners<\/div>\n
Federal Common Law · Climate Change · Jurisdiction<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether federal common law exclusively governs claims seeking redress for injuries allegedly caused by the effect of interstate greenhouse gas emissions.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether a federal district court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 over claims seeking redress for injuries allegedly caused by the effect of interstate greenhouse gas emissions even if they are pleaded under state law.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Briefs coming soon<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2021<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Artiss v. Westlake Pharmaceuticals, Inc.<\/div>\n
Civil Procedure · Personal Jurisdiction<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether a court may exercise specific personal jurisdiction over a brand-name pharmaceutical manufacturer that promotes and sells a drug in the forum State when the plaintiff was injured by a generic version of the same drug–which was required by law to copy the branded drug’s key features.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether Ames Stat. § 5101 comports with due process to the extent it conditions registration to do business in the State on consent to general personal jurisdiction in the State’s courts.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Petitioner Brief<\/a>Respondent Brief<\/a>Reply Brief<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2020<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Tanner v. State of Ames<\/div>\n
First Amendment · Fifth Amendment · Self-Incrimination<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether the Ames Nonconsensual Pornography Act, Ames Crim. Stat. 545, violates the First Amendment.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination allows a defendant to refuse to disclose the password to her computer and phone, when the government has a warrant to search those devices.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Briefs coming soon<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2019<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Department of the Interior v. Caldwell<\/div>\n
Equal Protection · Tenth Amendment · Indian Law<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq., and the final rule implementing the statute violate equal protection.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq., and the final rule implementing the statute violate the anti-commandeering component of the Tenth Amendment.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Briefs coming soon<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2018<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Groves v. Gallant<\/div>\n
Second Amendment · First Amendment · Free Speech<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether Ames Rev. Stat. § 18-133(a) violates the Second Amendment as applied to Groves.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether Ames Rev. Stat. § 18-726(a) violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Briefs coming soon<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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2017<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
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Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Bloom v. United States<\/div>\n
Equal Protection · Gender Discrimination · Criminal Procedure<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether the Court should overrule Rostker and hold that Bloom’s conviction must be vacated because the Selective Service registration requirement unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of gender.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether Bloom is entitled to withdraw his felony guilty plea as a matter of right because the magistrate judge lacked statutory or constitutional authority to accept the plea.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Briefs coming soon<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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\n
2016<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
Final Round<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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United States v. Papaya Cellular<\/div>\n
Fourth Amendment · Stored Communications Act · Digital Privacy<\/div>\n
Questions Presented<\/div>
1.<\/div>
Whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that it would cause an “undue burden” on Papaya Cellular, within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d), to require it to write software to override its encryption technology and disaggregate a particular subscriber’s historical cell site information to assist in an ongoing terrorism investigation.<\/div><\/div>
2.<\/div>
Whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that disclosure of the historical cell site information would violate the Fourth Amendment.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Facts & Context →<\/a><\/div>\n
Briefs coming soon<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n

Additional briefs will be added as they become available.<\/p>\n

Questions about the archive?
Email the Ames Committee at amesHLS@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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