Court Offers Contest to Students

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - April 21, 2016 - PRLog -- A new essay contest offers public high school students in the Syracuse City School District a unique opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the United States Constitution, add to their academic achievements on their college applications, and earn cash prizes. Each contestant must submit a typed essay of up to 1,250 words in length about the origin of some aspect of the United States Constitution, the particular topic to be chosen by the contestant. Essays are due by midnight on June 15, 2016. The contest is offered by the Constitutional Scholars Program, a community outreach program of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York that is sponsored and administered by the NDNY Federal Court Bar Association.

Essays must be contestants' original work based on historical sources cited in a recognized system of citation. There is no entry fee but each contestant may submit only one essay per annual contest. A list of official rules is available on the contest's website, http://www.constitutionalscholars.org.

Also available on the contest's website are examples of possible essay topics and excerpts of supporting historical sources. Possible topics include (1) what steps the framers took to ensure that federal court judges remain independent and why, (2) how the framers used the ideas of separation-of-powers and checks-and-balances and why, (3) why some framers called for a Bill of Rights and others initially opposed it, and (4) how the Declaration of Independence relates to the Constitution.

Essays will be judged by a panel of three or more federal court judges based on content, clarity and style. Results will be announced on September 17, 2016 (Constitution Day). The first place prize is $750, the second place prize is $350, and the third place prize is $150.  In addition, there will be one or more honorable mention prizes, and contestants may be invited to participate in a speech society, in which they would, in exchange for a $100 prize, deliver their essay orally to a local civic group. The contest is also being offered to public high school students of the City School District of Albany, the Schenectady City School District and the Enlarged City School District of Troy, as part of the contest's Capital Region Division.