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Best Brief, 17th Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition, Bret Hobson, Lauren Mock

Competition Materials

From First Amendment Center News Release:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The team from George Mason University School of Law won the 17th Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition today at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

Recognized for “best brief” in the competition were Bret Hobson and Lauren Mock of the University of Georgia School of Law; and for “best oralist,” Ryan Faulconer of the University of Virginia School of Law.

The competition this year focused on a hypothetical case involving commercial speech, specifically attorney advertising. Teams of student advocates from 35 law schools argued both sides of complex …

Defining Religion: The Struggle To Define Religion Under The First Amendment And The Contributions And Insights Of Other Disciplines Of Study, Including Theology, Psychology, Sociology, The Arts, And Anthropology, Jeffrey Omar Usman

Law Faculty Scholarship

This article attempts to explore from many vantage points one word within one context — the word “religion” in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The article begins with placing our understanding of religion in a historical context. By exploring the history of religious liberty in the colonies and the Founders’ view thereof, an understanding of what the Founders were seeking to protect by safeguarding religious liberty will be gained. Having established this framework, the article then addresses overarching issues that complicate the quest to define religion. Then, the article transitions into an exploration of the development of …