Moot Court: Sisley v. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
- Average Rating:
- Not yet rated
- Bundle(s):
- CLI2022 On-Demand
- Categories:
- Federal Law | Hemp Law | Regulation law
- Faculty:
- Shane Pennington | Matt Zorn | Alan B. Morrison | Michael Hiller | Jay Wexler
- Duration:
- 1 Hour 19 Minutes
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- SKU:
- INCBA090522MootOD
- License:
- Access for 6 month(s) after purchase.
Description
In 2020, from a cell in a California state prison, Steven Zyszkiewicz wrote a letter to DEA to request removal of marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. His reason was simple: “the current situation of cannabis in Schedule I [is] completely untenable” because “[h]alf the states allow for medical use.” He was (and still is) right. But when DEA responded just months later, it concluded otherwise and denied Zyszkiewicz’s petition. According to DEA, evidence gathered in response to a different petition submitted nearly a decade earlier proved that, per its five-part test, marijuana today has no “currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” Days later—and completely by chance—counsel for Dr. Sue Sisley of Scottsdale Research Institute learned of DEA’s then-secret denial of Mr. Zyszkiewicz’s petition. Together with several veterans and veterans-rights organizations, Dr. Sisley sued DEA in federal court challenging the five-part test the agency has used to keep marijuana in Schedule I for decades. That petition is being played out at CLI's first ever Moot Court!
Our distinguished panel of judges will hear argument from both sides—petitioners and the government—and make a decision regarding the legality of marijuana’s continued classification as a Schedule I substance. Come see the exciting hearing unfold! Shane Pennington and Matt Zorn, counsel for Dr. Sisley in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will present the case—Dr. Sisley’s arguments as well as the government’s before our distinguished panel of judges: Alan Morrison, Dean of Public Interest GW Law, Michael S. Hiller, Managing Partner of Hiller, PC, and Jay Wexler, Professor of Law, Boston University.
Credits
This program is eligible for 1 hours of General CLE credit in 60-minute states, and 1.2 hours of General CLE credit in 50-minute states. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.
INCBA webinars are generally eligible for credit in the following states: AR, AL, CA, CO, GA, HI, IL, NJ, NM, NY, ND, PA, TX, VT. Additional states may be available for credit upon self-application by attendees. States typically decide whether a program qualifies for MCLE credit in their jurisdiction 4-8 weeks after the program application is submitted. For many live events, credit approval is not received prior to the program.
The on-demand version of this webinar is eligible for credit in the following states: AR, AL, CA, CO, GA, HI, IL, NJ, NM, NY, ND, PA, TX, VT. Additional states may be available for credit upon self-application by attendees.
(Default credit disclaimer updated 02.08.2024)
For current accreditation status, please select your jurisdiction below.
Handouts
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INCBA CLI Sisley v. DEA Moot Court Outline
(35.8 KB)
Shane Pennington-INCBA CLI Sisley v. DEA Moot Court Outline |
Available after Purchase | ||
|
Sisley v DEA CA9 Sisley Opening Brief
(1.7 MB)
Sisley v DEA CA9 Sisley Opening Brief |
Available after Purchase | ||
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Sisley v. DEA CA9 DEA Answering Brief-06-06-2022
(459.3 KB)
Sisley v. DEA CA9 DEA Answering Brief-06-06-2022 |
Available after Purchase | ||
|
Sisley v. DEA CA9 Sisley Reply Brief
(244 KB)
Sisley v. DEA CA9 Sisley Reply Brief |
Available after Purchase | ||
Faculty
Shane Pennington Related Seminars and Products
Partner
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
Shane is a partner in the Litigation Department where he counsels clients on federal regulatory issues involving a number of industries, including energy, pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, aviation and agriculture. A former law clerk to federal judges on the D.C. Circuit, the Fifth Circuit and the D.C. District Court, Shane brings unique insight and strategic thinking to assist clients facing complex regulatory issues.
Rated “One to Watch” and a “Rising Star” in appellate law by The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers, respectively, Shane has argued cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Ninth and D.C. Circuits, securing landmark results for clients. In a series of cases on behalf of veterans and scientists, for example, Shane raised a novel claim under the Freedom of Information Act to uncover a secret 2018 Opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel that revealed the unlawfulness of a longstanding agency policy that had obstructed cannabis research for over half a century. Shane regularly litigates cases concerning federal and state agencies that involve the Administrative Procedure Act, the Controlled Substances Act, and Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Clients turn to Shane to advance their strategic goals within existing regulatory and legal frameworks, but also to develop creative strategies to reimagine those frameworks amidst rapidly changing industries. To that end, Shane often advocates for clients at the administrative level, working with state and federal regulators to devise novel solutions to seemingly intractable problems. He has represented companies, scientists and industry coalitions before the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Justice, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shane has published extensively on topics related to administrative law and drug policy, including the private nondelegation doctrine, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, judicial deference to administrative agencies, and bureaucratic management and the limits of presidential power. Shane often provides commentary on administrative law issues to the Yale Journal on Regulation Notice & Comment blog and is a regular contributor to the “News From the Circuits” column published in the American Bar Association’s Administrative and Regulatory Law News.
Matt Zorn Related Seminars and Products
Attorney
Yetter Coleman LLP
Matt focuses on complex commercial litigation, representing clients in IP, contract, and regulatory litigation in federal and state court. He has significant expertise in federal jurisdiction and procedure. Matt is at home digging out case-changing evidence, crafting legal strategies under arcane statutes and procedures, eliciting critical deposition or trial testimony, and arguing on his feet to courts and arbitrators, all to help his clients win needed relief. Matt was honored as a 2020 Pegasus Scholar by American Inns of Court. In one of his favorite areas of complex litigation, Best Lawyers in America named Matt "One to Watch," and Thomson Reuters' Super Lawyers recognized him as a "Texas Rising Star" in IP Litigation. Based on recent pro bono work, Matt also is recognized as an authority in the byzantine federal regulatory scheme relating to cannabis research, even being named to the Law360 2020 Cannabis Editorial Advisory Board. Before joining the firm, Matt was a judicial clerk to the Hon. Rodney Gilstrap, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, spending hundreds of hours in court helping manage one of the busiest trial dockets in the country. Before then he was a litigator with Paul, Weiss in New York City.
Alan B. Morrison Related Seminars and Products
Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest and Public Service Law
George Washington University Law School
Alan B. Morrison is the Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest & Public Service at GW Law. He is responsible for creating pro bono opportunities for students, bringing a wide range of public interest programs to the law school, encouraging students to seek positions in the non-profit and government sectors, and assisting students find ways to fund their legal education to make it possible for them to pursue careers outside of traditional law firms.
For most of his career, Dean Morrison worked for the Public Citizen Litigation Group, which he co-founded with Ralph Nader in 1972 and directed for over 25 years. His work involved law reform litigation in various areas including: open government, opening up the legal profession, suing agencies that fail to comply with the law, enforcing principles of separation of powers, protecting the rights of consumers, and protecting unrepresented class members in class action settlements.
He has argued 20 cases in the Supreme Court, including victories in Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar (holding lawyers subject to the antitrust laws for using minimum fee schedules); Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (making commercial speech subject to the First Amendment); and INS v. Chadha (striking down over 200 federal laws containing the legislative veto as a violation of separation of powers).
He currently teaches civil procedure and constitutional law, and previously taught at Harvard, NYU, Stanford, Hawaii, and American University law schools. He is a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and was its president in 1999–2000. Among other positions, he served as an elected member of the Board of Governors of the District of Columbia Bar, a member and then senior fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a member of the American Law Institute, and a member of the Committee on Science, Technology & Law of the National Academy of Science. He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, served as a commissioned officer in the US Navy, and was an assistant U.S. attorney in New York.
Michael Hiller Related Seminars and Products
Founding Member
Hiller PC
| Michael oversees Hiller, PC's National Cannabis Practice. In 2018, he was named America’s 420 Advocate of the Year by Canna-Gather, received the International Hope Award by the Cannabis Business Association, and was named one of the 30 Most Powerful Cannabis Litigators in America by Mg Retailer Magazine. Michael has been named a SuperLawyer by SuperLawyer Magazine every year since 2010, and served as lead counsel in the legalization lawsuit and appeal, Washington v. Barr -- a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and ultimately received the support of 19 nationally-recognized organizations and seven members of Congress. A retired member of the faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice as a Professor of Constitutional Law, Michael is a fierce advocate and widely recognized leader in the cannabis space. In addition to his cannabis law work, Michael has received the Grassroots Preservation Award for his preservation of city, state and federal landmarks; has been named a Life Member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums for his successful trial work; and is a designated Mediator for the New York State Supreme Court. Before his admission to the Bar, Michael was a professional musician, and an artist-in-residence at NYC's legendary The Bitter End. |
Jay Wexler Related Seminars and Products
Professor
Boston University School of Law
Professor Jay Wexler has taught at Boston University School of Law since 2001. He earned tenure in 2007 and was awarded the Michael Melton Award for Excellence in Teaching at the law school in 2009. Professor Wexler’s scholarship focuses on church-state law, constitutional law, environmental law, and marijuana law. His articles, essays, and reviews have been published in the BYU Law Review, George Washington Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, Minnesota Law Review, Texas Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, Washington University Law Review, and William and Mary Law Review, among other places.
Professor Wexler is also the author of six books. His most recent volume, Our Non-Christian Nation: How Atheists, Satanists, Pagans, and Others are Demanding Their Rightful Place in Public Life, was published in 2019 by Redwood Press, the trade imprint of Stanford University Press, and won a 2019 Independent Publishers Gold Medal award in the Religion category. His current book project, which is under contract with the University of California Press for publication in 2022, is entitled Weed Rules: Toward a Just, Joyous, and Sensible Marijuana Policy in a Post-Legalization Nation. Professor Wexler’s shorter pieces have appeared in places like the Boston Globe, Huffington Post, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Mental Floss, National Geographic’s NewsWatch, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Salon, Slate, Spy, USA Today, and Vox.
Wexler speaks on church-state and other constitutional issues across the United States and internationally. In the fall of 2014, he taught on a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Buenos Aires. He has previously taught constitutional civil liberties at the University of Lyon 3 and church-state law on a Fulbright Fellowship at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. He has delivered lectures on constitutional and environmental topics in Bangkok, Hanoi, Madrid, Moscow, Oslo, Santiago, Tallinn, and Warsaw. In addition, Professor Wexler has appeared as a church-state law expert in the documentary film Hail Satan? which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018, and in an episode of the Emmy award winning A&E series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.
Before coming to BU Law, Professor Wexler worked as a law clerk for Judge David Tatel on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the United States Supreme Court. From 1999 to 2001, he was an attorney advisor at the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice where he provided advice on constitutional and statutory issues to various members of the executive branch.
