Post Date: November 10, 2003
This year’s judges are Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Ames Chief Justice; Judge Fortunato Benavides, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; and Judge Karen Nelson Moore, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.
THE CASE:
The 2003 Ames Final Round case — Michelle Jones, Petitioner v. Harlan Oakes, Commissioner of the Ames Division of Motor Vehicles, and Clara Brooks, Ames State Treasurer, Respondents — involves a plaintiff’s challenge to a state statute authorizing the production of specialty license plates displaying the words, “Choose Life.” The plaintiff holds pro-choice beliefs, but cannot obtain a pro-choice license plate because the state has not authorized such a plate. The first issue asks whether the plaintiff has Article III standing to challenge the statute. The second addresses whether the statute violates the plaintiff’s right to free speech under the First Amendment.
THE TEAMS:
The Paul Wellstone Memorial Team (Petitioner)
The John Rawls Memorial Team (Respondent)