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High school civics contest to conclude April 1
Just a few weeks remain for young people in the CNMI to enter the 2018 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest, an essay and video competition offering substantial cash prizes and an opportunity to meet eminent jurists and legal practitioners.
The contest is open to students in grades 9-12 in public, private, and parochial schools or home- schooled students of equivalent grade status. The deadline for entries is 11:59pm Pacific time on April 1, 2018.
More information is available at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/civicscontest.
The theme of the contest is “The 14th Amendment 150 Years After Ratification: What Does Equal Protection Mean to Students?”
Students are challenged to write an essay or produce a video focusing on how Congress and the federal courts have applied the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to public education, whether in admissions, classroom instruction or athletics.
The contest is cosponsored by the Courts and Community Committee of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit and the federal courts in nine western states, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
A total of $7,000 in cash prizes will be awarded with the top three finishers in both the essay and video competitions receiving $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place.
The first-place winners, along with a parent or guardian, also will be invited to attend the 2108 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Anaheim, California.
The conference is an annual gathering of federal judges and lawyers who preside and practice in the federal courts. At least one U.S. Supreme Court justice typically participates in the conference and usually meets with the contest winners.
The U.S. District Court for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands will conduct a local contest to select finalists for the circuit competition. For more information about the local contest, contact Amanda Hayes at (670) 237-1230 or email amanda_hayes@nmid.uscourts.gov. (PR)
