About

Mission Statement

The University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law (JCL) provides a forum for the academic advancement and interdisciplinary study of constitutional law. To that end, JCL cultivates innovative scholarship, promotes critical perspectives, and reinvents the traditional study of constitutional law. As part of its mission, JCL is committed to publishing five issues each year via both print and electronic mediums.

General Information

During the 2017-2018 academic year, JCL will publish its 20th Volume. Since our founding, JCL has emerged as a leading publication in the area of constitutional legal analysis and discourse. JCL is one of only seventeen non-law review publications ranked in the top 55 legal journals nationwide for the most citations and impact. As a result of our position within the legal academy, JCL is fortunate to receive and publish the work of some of the leading scholars in the field, including the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, the Honorable Guido Calabresi, Richard Epstein, Laurence Tribe, Seth Kreimer, Kermit Roosevelt, Erwin Chemerinsky, Marci Hamilton, Barry Cushman, Sandy Levinson, Martin Redish, David Rudovsky, Mark Tushnet, the Honorable Douglas H. Ginsburg, and Jerry Mashaw.

Symposium

JCL sponsors an annual symposium on a topic at the cutting edge of constitutional law. The Volume 19 Symposium focused on First Amendment issues. The symposium featured Eagles safety and political activist Malcolm Jenkins, as well as a host of brilliant panelists on the following topics:

Panel #1: Open Expression on University Campuses
Panel #2: Responding to Hate Crimes through Free Speech
Panel #3: Fake News and the New Administration

For more information on our most recent symposium, please visit our Symposium page. More information on the Volume 20 Symposium is forthcoming.

Edwin R. Keedy Cup Competition

The Edwin R. Keedy Cup Competition is held annually at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. This internal moot court competition is open to second-year law students. Participants advance to the finals by demonstrating superior brief writing and oral advocacy skills. The final round is judged by a panel of distinguished judges from across the country.

Since JCL's founding, our members have performed at high levels in the Keedy Cup Competition. Over the last decade, JCL has had at least one representative in the final round in all but one year. Most recently, in the 2019 competition, Steven Mills (Executive Editor, Vol. 21) won the Keedy Cup. In the upcoming 2020 competition, JCL is proud to once again have two representatives, Kayla Katz (Associate Editor, Vol. 21), and JiLon Li (Associate Editor, Vol. 21), and we wish them both the best of luck.

JCL Keedy Cup Record

2020 (upcoming) - Kayla Katz (Associate Editor, Vol. 21); JiLon Li (Associate Editor, Vol. 21),
2019 - Steven Mills* (Executive Editor, Vol. 21); Charles Nary (Editor-in-Chief, Vol. 21)
2018 - Jack Heyburn* (Comments Editor, Vol. 20);
Ryan Monahan (Articles Editor, Vol. 20)
2017 - Andrew Steinmetz* (Senior Editor, Vol. 19)
2016 - Peter Mardian (Senior Editor, Vol. 18); Danielle J. McCall* (Development Editor, Vol. 18)
2015 - Jessa Irene DeGroote* (Articles Editor, Vol. 17); Roger Stronach (Executive Editor, Vol. 17)
2014 - Brandon D. Harper* (Editor-in-Chief, Vol. 16); Vinay Limbachia* (Comments Editor, Vol. 16)
2013 - Jennifer Berman* (Articles Editor, Vol. 15); David Robbins (Associate Editor, Vol. 14)
2012 - Robert A. Mantel* (Articles Editor, Vol. 14); Meredith C. Ruggles (Associate Editor, Vol. 13)
2011 - Kimberly R. Upham (Executive Editor, Vol. 13)
2009 - Dominic E. Draye (Senior Editor, Vol. 11)
2004 - Jason P. Rubin* (Senior Editor, Vol. 6)
2003 - Jason Abel* (Editor-in-Chief, Vol. 5)
2002 - Oliver M. Olanoff (Senior Editor, Vol. 4)
2000 - David S. Leibowitz (Editor-in-Chief, Vol. 2); Rick Swedlofe (Articles Editor, Vol. 2); Louis J. Virelli* (Articles Editor, Vol. 2)
1999 - Thomas Wallerstein* (Associate Editor, Vol. 1)
1998 - Meredith L. Clair (Articles Editor, Vol. 1); Samidh J. Guha* (Articles Editor, Vol. 1)
* denotes the winner of the Keedy Cup, or an individual award, such as Best Oralist