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I have a writing sample that is a fake court opinion declaring a recent action by the Trump administration to be unconstitutional. It is purely a constitutional analysis, not political, but is this a bad idea as it could rub some people the wrong way?

If you have a different writing sample of equal quality I'd go with that. Why risk it.

I'd use something more run-of-the-mill.

ETA A little curious if you think there's some upside to using this as a sample or if it's just what you happen to have on hand right now.

Agree with the above, or if no other option, at least rearrange into another format that reads more like a straightforward memo. I would also explain the assignment on a cover sheet if applicable.

I would avoid judicial fanfic. Present it some other way, as a memo or something.

The issue here isn't the topic it's that the fake opinion is kind of weird

jd20132013 wrote:The issue here isn't the topic it's that the fake opinion is kind of weird

In addition to being a little weird: putting your writing sample in the exact format judges spend their careers producing makes it super easy for a judge to pick it apart, even if just for looking different from the way the judge wants their opinions to look.

radio1nowhere wrote:

jd20132013 wrote:The issue here isn't the topic it's that the fake opinion is kind of weird

In addition to being a little weird: putting your writing sample in the exact format judges spend their careers producing makes it super easy for a judge to pick it apart, even if just for looking different from the way the judge wants their opinions to look.

This is where the subject matter does make a little bit of difference for me. IME judges tend to be extra cautious in politically charged cases; if a judge might pick apart a "fake opinion" under any circumstances, I think that tendency is enhanced in a context where the judge would be especially cautious about the scope of the opinion, the word choice, etc.

FWIW, I got both a district and COA clerkship with a mock SCOTUS opinion (albeit for a non-controversial case). I don't think a mock opinion is necessarily a bad idea, as long as it's done well. Subject matter could be a concern though, especially if they don't buy the reasoning.

If you produced this for a class then I think it's ok to use. But your cover sheet should make clear the extent to which the topic/format were assigned. If you can say "written Spring 2017 for Prof Y's Constitutional Theory Seminar; the topic and format were assigned," that is a lot better than "written as part of a creative legal writing class," or worse, "written in my spare time."