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the Case

2025-2026 Case problem

This year's hypothetical case features William DeNolf, a part-time lecturer at Olympus State University, who applies to his university's prestigious masters program, the Jackson Kelly School of Criminal Justice, in January 2023. On March 17th, 2023, DeNolf was notified that his application had been rejected. Using the freedom of information act on OSU's admissions office he finds out that while none of the male applicants had lower GPA and GRE scores than him, many female applicants who were accepted did. Denolf begins complaining about the policy of the school to give preferential treatment to some female applicants publicly, which sparks backlash from school donors and results in his termination as an employee. The issues before the Court are as follows:

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1. Whether the "Pettus-Cole" policy that gave preferential weight to female applicants in admission to the Jackson Kelly School of Criminal Justice was a violation of DeNolf's Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law.

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2. Whether Petitioner’s termination after making remarks about the School's admissions policy was a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech through the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause.

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Read the case problem below to learn more about this exciting and complicated case. As you write your argument, remember you only need to address one issue, either equal protection or due process.

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Attached Case Problem was updated May 26th, 2025.

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Case problem

Issue one case law

  • Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973)

  • Schlesinger v. Ballard, 419 U.S. 498 (1975)

  • Personnel Adm'r of Massachusetts v. Feeney, 442 U.S. 256 (1979)

  • Kirchberg v. Feenstra, 450 U.S. 455 (1981)

  • United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996)

  • Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003)

  • Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. ___ (2023)

  • Students for Fair Admissions v. The United States Naval Academy, 1:23-cv-02699, (D. Maryland) (2024)

Issue two case law

  • Pickering v. Bd. of Educ., 391 U.S. 563 (1968)

  • ​Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (1983)

  • Rankin v. McPherson, 483 U.S. 378 (1987)

  • Urofsky v. Gilmore, 216 F.3d 401, 412 (4th Cir. 2000)

  • Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006)

  • Renken v. Gregory, 541 F.3d 179 (7th Cir. 2009)

  • Gorum v. Sessoms, 561 F.3d 179 (3d Cir. 2009)

  • Weintraub v. Bd. of Educ., 593 F.3d 196 (2d Cir. 2010)

  • Adams v. Trs. of the Univ. of N.C. Wilmington, 640 F.3d 550 (4th Cir. 2011)

  • Demers v. Austin, 746 F.3d 402 (9th Cir. 2014)

  • Heim v. Daniel, 81 F.4th 212 (2d Cir. 2023)

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