Duke Moot Court

2016
Tournament Essay
Application
High School Tournament 2015- 16: Case Prompt
Jason Dunlap is a transgender resident of Oceanville, Midlands who identifies as a male.
Since 2003, Dunlap has been employed as a janitor at LaMark Elementary School, a public
school funded entirely by the state of Midlands and managed by a board of twelve locallyelected administrators. LaMark Elementary employs forty full-time staff, including two janitors
and twenty teachers. Since beginning work, Dunlap has been a model employee, earning four
awards for employee of the year.
On October 18, 2013, Dunlap publically decided to undergo a sex change and began sex
reassignment therapy. After Dunlap announced his decision, a majority of the school board and
faculty called for his resignation. Outraged, they claimed that children whose families have
religious objections to transsexualism should not be forced to interact with people undergoing a
sex change. Many residents of the LaMark community also expressed anger, staging protests
outside the school. During one protest, a teacher from LaMark Elementary waved a sign that
stated, Leave our school or youll be sorry.
To complete therapy, Mr. Dunlap must regularly consume testosterone medication, which
may cause drowsiness, mood swings, and chronic fatigue. Some of the duties Mr. Dunlap
performs for his job require considerable physical exertion, such as carrying heavy laboratory
equipment and scrubbing down cafeteria tables. In January 2014, Dunlap approached the school
board and asked to be relieved of these duties. Mr. Dunlap claimed that he felt too exhausted
to perform the duties but did not tell the school board about his medication. The school board
promptly denied Mr. Dunlaps request.
On January 24, the school board decided to repaint the entire interior of the elementary
school, which had not been done in fifteen years. Mr. Dunlap was assigned the job in its entirety
and was given a deadline of one week. On January 25, Mr. Dunlap resigned from his job. The
next day, the school board released the following public statement: Jason Dunlap left LaMark
Elementary entirely by his own will. The school board did not discriminate against him based on
his orientation or his medical condition.
Jason Dunlap is bringing a claim of Title VII employment discrimination. In 500 words
or fewer, evaluate Dunlaps claim using constitutional reasoning. Applicants are free to compare
the strengths and weaknesses of the claim from a neutral standpoint or advocate for one side of
the issue as they see fit. No preference or penalty will be given based on the position you choose.
In writing the essay, applicants may refer to the materials provided in appendix 1 but not on any
outside sources.

Appendix 1

United States Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, Section 703
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any
individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms,
conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individuals race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin.

Derr v. Gulf Oil Corp (1986)

To establish "constructive discharge" under Title VII, an employee must have been subjected to intolerable
working conditions which would foreseeably compel a reasonable employee to quit, whether or not the
employer specifically intended to force the victim's resignation.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

The employer has the right to fix the qualifications that are necessary or preferred in selecting an
employee, and, in order to make out a prima facie case, a plaintiff must
establish that she meets these qualifications.
School Information
Name:
Address:
City:
Zip Code:
st
1 Students Information
Name:
Email:
Phone Number:
2nd Students Information
Name:
Email:
Phone Number:
Advisers Information
Name:
Email:
Phone Number:

State:
Phone Number:

Honor Statement: I certify that the essay submitted is the work of the student team members listed
above. I agree to abide by the rules and regulations of the Duke Moot Court Tournament and
furthermore understand that failure to comply may result in disqualification.
Student 1
Date
Student 2

Date

Adviser

Date_

Rules and Regulations

Requirements
1. Each team of two students must enter only one essay.
2. The essay must be 500 words or fewer, excluding citations.
3. Citations must follow MLA format.
4. Use Times New Roman, 12-point, double-spaced text.
Submission Instructions
1. Please include the completed cover sheet (i.e., the previous page) and the essay submission
together in one PDF file titled DMCTourneyApp_SchoolName_LastName1_LastName2,
with LastName1 and LastName2 referring to the first and second students last names,
respectively.
2. Please email the final submission to dukemootcourt@gmail.com with the subject line
DMCTourneyApp_SchoolName_LastName1_LastName2. This is very important, as
submissions are accepted over a period of one month, and if your subject line does
not match this format, we may miss your application when we gather the submissions
for evaluation.
3. Homeschooled applicants should indicate Homeschool as their school name.
4. If you are unable to email your submission, please send in a physical copy to:
Tyler Fredricks
929 Morreene Rd
Apartment C33
Durham, NC 27708
Important Dates and Addresses
1. The cover sheet and essay must be submitted by 11:59 PM November 14th, 2015. We
strongly encourage students to submit their essays by email.
2. All contestants will be notified of their status and the tournament case prompt by
December 5th, 2015 at the latest.
3. Final payments are due by January 10th, 2016. The fee is $75 per team, and an additional
fee of $40 per team will be charged for late payment submissions. Checks should be made
out to Duke Moot Court.
4. Qualifying teams will be invited to the Duke Moot Court Tournament on February 20th21st, 2016.
Contact Information
1. Please note the following important contacts:
Co-President: Tyler Fredricks, tyler.fredricks@duke.edu, (general questions)
Co-President: Matthew Peterson, matthew.peterson@duke.edu, (general questions)
Tournament Chair: Danielle Ives, danielle.ives@duke.edu, (tournament logistics)
Case Law Committee Chairs Logan Kirkpatrick, logan.laguna.kirkpatrick@duke.edu
(essay prompt questions)
Best of luck, and we look forward to reading your submissions soon!