About the 2023-2024 Competition
This year marks the 99th anniversary of the Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court, founded at Columbia Law School in 1925 by the Story Inn, a chapter of the legal fraternity Phi Delta Phi. The competition is named in honor of Harlan Fiske Stone 1898, who was a member of the Story Inn while a student at the Law School. Stone was named dean of Columbia Law School in 1910. He served in that capacity until 1924, when President Calvin Coolidge appointed him attorney general of the United States. He was named to the Supreme Court of the United States the following year and was elevated to chief justice in 1941.
This year’s case centers on whether a student athlete should be considered an employee of a university where he plays collegiate sports, and whether federal prohibitions on medical marijuana preempt state law. The final round of the competition was held on Thursday, March 21, 2024. Oral arguments will be delivered by four outstanding student finalists: Dakota Fenn ’24; Jamie Herring LAW ’24, BUS ’24; Christopher Morillo ’24, who won best final round brief; and Matt Winesett ’24, who was awarded the Lawrence S. Greenbaum Prize for best oral presentation.
For more information about this year’s competition, see the Student Directors’ Blog.
1. Whether Alexander P. Brown, a college student at Woodward University who received an athletic scholarship from the university and sponsorship money from an associated alumni organization, should be considered an “employee” of the university for the purposes of Nev. Rev. Stat. § 678C.850(3).
2. Whether Woodward University’s compliance with Nev. Rev. Stat. § 678C.850(3)—which requires employers to attempt to reasonably accommodate their employees’ medical cannabis use—is preempted by the federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801, et seq.
Plaintiff-Appellee Alexander P. Brown, a resident of Pennsylvania, brought this federal action against Defendant-Appellant Woodward University, a private university in Nevada. Brown briefly attended Woodward during the fall 2022 semester on an athletic scholarship and played for the Woodward men’s basketball team. Brown lost his place on the team—along with his scholarship and all associated benefits—after he disclosed that he was prescribed medical marijuana for a medical condition. Brown is challenging his termination from the team under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 678C.850(3), a Nevada state law that requires employers to attempt to reasonably accommodate their employees’ medical marijuana use.
In June 2021, when Brown was a highly regarded high school basketball player, Woodward’s basketball coach Benjamin Wade contacted him to offer a full athletic scholarship at Woodward, covering the cost of tuition, school supplies, and basic living expenses. Coach Wade also mentioned that the National Collegiate Athletics Association (“NCAA”) had recently changed its rules governing compensation for student-athletes for the use of their names, images, and likenesses (“NIL”). Historically, the NCAA had strict amateurism rules that prohibited student-athletes from receiving any money related to their participation in sports. The new policy continued to prohibit NCAA member schools from paying athletes, but it allowed student-athletes to enter sponsorship agreements with third parties.
Brown accepted the offer from Coach Wade. After graduating from high school in the spring of 2022, he moved to Las Vegas so he could participate in student-led training with the other members of the team over the summer. He matriculated at Woodward in September 2022, and official team activities began in early October. As a varsity athlete, Brown was subject to several conduct policies and time commitments. His activities at Woodward were heavily supervised by coaching staff. For example, he could not register for his desired major because the classes conflicted with his practice schedule.
Upon his matriculation at Woodward, Brown also entered into a partnership agreement with the Wildcat NIL Collective. The Collective is a business entity established by Woodward fans and donors to sponsor and help arrange endorsement deals for Woodward athletes. The Wildcat NIL Collective is legally separate from Woodward University, although the two entities work closely together in areas such as fundraising and ensuring compliance with NCAA rules. From late September through early October 2022, Brown participated in a promotional video, autographed memorabilia, and appeared at a fundraising banquet for the Wildcat NIL Collective, earning a total of $950.
In mid-October 2022, Brown was asked to disclose any medications that he was taking to Coach Wade and the coaching staff. Brown revealed that he had a prescription for medical cannabis, which is permissible under Nevada state law. Woodward maintains a drug-free-campus policy, and NCAA rules prohibit the use of cannabis, including for medical reasons. Within days, Brown lost his place on the team and his scholarship was revoked.
Brown filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Woodward later moved for summary judgment on two grounds: first, that Brown was a student-athlete and not an employee of Woodward for purposes of state law, and that Brown could not access the employment protections of Nev. Rev. Stat. § 678C.850(3); and second, that the university was not required to comply with Nev. Rev. Stat. § 678C.850(3) because the state statute was preempted by the federal Controlled Substances Act, which prohibits the possession and use of cannabis, including for medical purposes. Brown cross-moved for partial summary judgment on the same issues. After the district court held in Brown’s favor on both questions, thereby allowing the case to proceed to trial, Woodward filed an interlocutory appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
