Separation of Powers Clinic

The C. Boyden Gray Center, under the direction of Co-Directors Professor Jennifer L. Mascott and scholar Adam White, established the Separation of Powers Clinic for students at the Scalia Law School of George Mason University.

Trent McCotter serves as Director of Clinical and Academic Programs at the Gray Center as well as director of the clinic, which operates under the supervision of Professor Mascott who teaches substantive courses in constitutional law, separation of powers, federal courts, and administrative law at the law school.

The clinic provides practical instruction to students studying separation of powers issues within the federal government as well as structural constitutional principles that apply to the division of authority between the federal and state governments. Students also have the opportunity to participate closely in practical projects related to the study of constitutional questions that form the backbone of the Gray Center’s mission to foster significant legal scholarship examining the role of administrative agencies and the division of power within the three branches of the federal government. Students participating in the clinic course will gain practical legal experience by identifying cases of interest, researching legal issues, and helping to prepare drafts of appellate briefs.

In December 2021, the clinic submitted its inaugural filing, an amicus curiae brief in Egbert v. Boule, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 8, 2022; the petitioner in the case was represented by the Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation practice group of Williams & Connolly.

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Joshua Kleinfeld Faculty Co-Director

Joshua Kleinfeld is a Professor of Law and (by courtesy) Philosophy at Northwestern University. He writes and teaches at the intersection of law and political philosophy, particularly focusing on constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and criminal law. His work as a scholar and public intellectual has appeared in the Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, and University of Chicago Law Reviews, as well as the National Review, and his public appearances include a TEDx talk on Democracy and the Pandemic. As a former practicing lawyer, he has represented both major corporations accused of billion-dollar wrongdoing and, on a pro bono basis, children accused of homicide. His work today focuses on the nature of democracy as a matter of political philosophy and the practice of democratic government as a matter of constitutional, statutory, and criminal law. He holds a JD in law from the Yale Law School, a PhD in philosophy from the Goethe University of Frankfurt, and a BA in philosophy from Yale College.


Clinic Briefs

Wilson v. Midland County, Texas, et al.

Amicus Curiae filed on April 23, 2024

Forsythe v. McDonough

Amicus curiae brief filed on February 20, 2024

James E. Snyder v. United States

Amicus curiae brief filed on February 12, 2024

Consumers’ Research; By Two, L.P. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Amicus curiae brief (Rehearing en banc) filed on February 7, 2024

Lewis County, Kentucky v. Helphenstine

Reply brief for Petitioners filed on January 2, 2024

Garfield County v. Biden

Amici curiae brief filed on November 8, 2023

Hopkins et al. v. Michael Watson

Amicus curiae brief filed on November 2, 2023

Lewis County, Kentucky v. Julie Helphenstine

Petition for a Writ of Certiorari filed on September 14, 2023

Hopkins et al. v. Watson

Amicus curiae brief (Rehearing en banc) filed on August 18, 2023

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

Amicus curiae brief filed on July 24, 2023

Garfield County v. Biden

Amicus Curiae Brief filed on April 21, 2023

Burgess V. Whang

Amicus curiae brief filed on April 5, 2023

Antonio De La Rosa-Rodriguez v. Merrick B. Garland

Amicus curiae brief filed on April 3, 2023

Calcutt v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Amicus curiae brief filed on March 2, 2023

Steven Donziger v. United States of America

Amicus curiae brief filed on November 16, 2022

Lindsey Graham v. Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury

Amicus curiae brief filed on October 27, 2022

Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury v. Lindsey Graham

Amicus curiae brief filed on October 12, 2022

Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury v. Lindsey Graham

Amicus curiae brief filed on September 22, 2022

Federal Trade Commission v. Walmart Inc.

Amicus curiae brief filed on September 6, 2022

Calcutt v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Amicus curiae brief filed on August 1, 2022

Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission

Amicus curiae brief filed on May 16, 2022

United States v. Crittenden

en banc Fifth Circuit brief filed on May 10, 2022

Nordlicht v. United States

Amicus curiae brief filed on May 4, 2022

Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety

Amicus curiae brief filed on March 9, 2022

George v. McDonough

Amicus curiae brief filed on March 7, 2022

Egbert v. Boule

Amicus curiae brief filed on December 27, 2021