Morris Tyler Moot Court Finals December 11

The Morris Tyler Moot Court of Appeals at Yale will be called to order at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 11, in the Yale Law School Auditorium. Four students will compete in the Harlan Fiske Stone Prize Finals of the competition. Doors open at 4 p.m. A reception in the Alumni Reading Room will follow the competition.

The Honorable Judge Thomas B. Griffith of the D.C. Circuit, the Honorable Judge Peter Hall of the 2nd Circuit, and the Honorable Chief Judge Sandra L. Lynch of the 1st Circuit will hear the case of Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, which is being heard by the Supreme Court this term. The case considers whether Pleasant Grove City, which displays monuments donated by civic groups in a municipal park, must, in keeping with the First Amendment, erect and display a monument proposed by Summum as well.

“We are very excited about the final round,” said Moot Court co-chairperson Joshua Johnson ’09. “We have a distinguished panel of federal appellate judges and four impressive student competitors. In addition, Pleasant Grove City presents interesting free-speech issues against a backdrop of lingering Establishment Clause concerns about the placement of religious-themed monuments in public parks.”

Sabria McElroy ’10 and Joey Minta ’09 will argue for the petitioner, Pleasant Grove City. Mike Murray ’09 and Lindsay Eyler ’09 will represent the respondent, Summum. The competitors’ briefs will be posted on the moot court website approximately one week before the date of the oral argument. 

The Morris Tyler Moot Court competition takes place each semester at Yale Law School, culminating in the Harlan Fiske Stone Prize Finals in the fall and the Thurman Arnold Prize Finals in the spring. All second- and third-year law students are eligible to participate.