The 2024 Gressman Competition Issues
(1) Whether an incarcerated person's placement in solitary confinement gives rise
to a protected liberty interest under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment;
and (2) Whether the prison violated RLUIPA (Religious Land Use and Institutionalized
Persons Act) in refusing to accommodate that incarcerated person's mode of religious
exercise while in solitary confinement.
2024 Gressman Competition Results
Winners: Elika Mohebbi & Casey Morrison
Finalists: Shea Moran & Emma Valiante
Best Oralist Petitioner: Timothy Knapp
Best Oralist Respondent: Emme Anderson
Best Brief Petitioner: Maureen Camacho & Tanya Panossian-Lesser
Best Brief Respondent: Elika Mohebbi & Casey Morrison
Many thanks to our outgoing Student Director, Alexandra Franchino, and Student Assistant
Director, Katie Considine, for creating a complex, challenging, fun problem and for
running a fantastic competition!
Gressman Competition Student Directors
The Student Gressman Director leads the Gressman Competition, substantively and administratively.
With the Assistant Director, the Student Director develops the competition's topic,
crafting a balanced, two-issue record on appeal and accompanying bench memorandum
while collaborating with a faculty advisor for substantive input. Administrative oversight
includes running the competition smoothly, recruiting and communicating with judges,
and responding to participant queries. The Student Gressman Director role also includes
scheduling argument dates and times, preparing materials for judges, and overseeing
oral argument sessions.
If you have any questions about the Gressman Competition, please contact the 2024-2025
Directors:
Shea Moran, Gressman Director
[email protected]
Emme Anderson, Assistant Gressman Director
[email protected]
The Gressman Competition Course Policies
2024 Gressman Policies & Procedures