A team of four WashU Law Appellate Clinic students—Finley Cobb, Ryan McGoffin, Elliot Mermel, and John Young—worked alongside Professor Conor Clarke on an amicus brief filed in the tariffs cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 5. The brief was also joined by three other law professors: Daniel Hemel, NYU School of Law; Ari Glogower, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law; and Jon Endean, Brooklyn Law School.
The students researched, drafted, and revised the brief under the guidance of Professor Clarke and Daniel Epps, the Howard and Caroline Cayne Distinguished Professor of Law. They also prepared the final printed version in full compliance with the Court’s detailed filing requirements.
The brief draws on Founding-era sources to show that Congress sought to retain firm control over tariffs, and argues that the federal government’s reading of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act departs from that original understanding.
For the students, the project offered a chance to work at the highest level of appellate advocacy while engaging directly with an active Supreme Court matter, an experience that reflects the hands-on training at the heart of the WashU Law Appellate Clinic.
