2025
The prompt was, “When is a Police Officer’s Use of Deadly Force Reasonable?”
First Place
Amanat D. Jain, Garden City High School
Garden City, NY
Second Place
Laurence Park, Shady Side Academy
Pittsburgh, PA
Third Place
Kayla Hill, Rutgers Preparatory School
South Bound Brook, NJ
2024*
The prompt was, “Should Social Media Platforms Have the Right to Restrict Political Speech?”
First Place
Faith Kim, Shawnee High School
Medford, NJ
Second Place
Toby Shu, Cherry Creek High School
Englewood, CO
Third Place
Alana Karam, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, FL
*(Changed to High School Only)
2023
The prompt was, “Should Schools Discipline Off-Campus Student Speech?”
High School Division
First Place
Campbell Collins, Homeschool
Austin, TX
Second Place
Maclain Conlin, Carrollton Latin School
Vass, NC
Third Place
Hailey Young, Castro Valley High School
Castro Valley, CA
Middle School Division
First Place
Akshan Ranasinghe, Mount View Middle School
Ellicott City, MD
Second Place
Madeline Madson, St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School
Kansas City, MO
Third Place
Anoushka Pandey, The Bryn Mawr School
Ruxton, MD
2022
The prompt was, “Should Schools Discipline Off-Campus Student Speech?”
ESSAY DIVISION
First Place
Evan Hsiang, W.B. Ray High School
Corpus Christi, TX
Second Place
Jude Farley, Pinkerton Academy
Derry, NH
Third Place
Lia Feit, John Handley High School
Winchester, VA
Honorable Mention
Mary Leung, Arcadia High School
Arcadia, CA
Owen Frasor, Lane Tech College Prep High School
Chicago, IL
VIDEO DIVISION
First Place
Paola Perez, Coral Reef Senior High School
Palmetto Bay, FL
Second Place
Asjia Roberson, Redondo Union High School
Redondo Beach, CA
Third Place
Serena Lee, Lane Tech College Prep High School
Chicago, IL
Honorable Mention
Carley Godfrey, Sullivan High School
Sullivan, MO
Logan Pritchard, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School
Hialeah, FL
2021
The prompt was, “Why We Should Defend and Support the Constitution?”
High School Division
First Place
Alex Chen, West Chester East High School
West Chester, PA
Second Place
Lauren Higgins, Glenelg High School
Dayton, MD
Third Place
James Chen, Stuyvesant High School
New York, NY
Middle School Division
First Place
Hailey Young, Canyon Middle School
Castro Valley, CA
Second Place
Emmanuel Caracheo, Elias Herrera Middle School
Laredo, TX
Third Place
Katherine Verrando, Don Juan Avila Middle School
Aliso Viejo, CA
2020
The prompt was “The 19th Amendment turns 100: Why is the right to vote still important?”
Middle School Division
1st Place: Brooke Eubanks
2nd Place: Elizabeth Adams
3rd Place: Jake Ferrans
High School Division
1st Place: Sophie Dau
2nd Place: Stephen Dai
3rd Place: Talia Traskos-Hart
2019
The prompt for this year’s contest was “Cyberbullying and the First Amendment.”
Middle School Division:
1st Place: Deeya Viradia
2nd Place: Lorenzo de Simone
3rd Place: Emilio Carbonell
High School Division:
1st Place: Annaclare Splettstoeszer
2nd Place: Kylie Hartman
3rd Place: Rachel Coppinger
2018
The FBA and the Federal Judges Association co-sponsored an Essay and Video Contest for High School students. The prompt was “What Does Equal Protection Mean to Students?”
Essays
1st Place: Delaney Patterson
2nd Place: Daniel Coppinger
3rd Place: Emily Miller
3rd Place: Jivan Jot Khalsa
3rd Place: Joelle Lum
Videos
1st Place: Alessia Fontecchio
2nd Place: Sen Feng
3rd Place: Connor Daley
2017
This year, hundreds of Middle School and High School students from around the country competed in the Federal Bar Association’s first ever Civics Essay Contest. The topic of this year’s contest was “What does an Impartial Judiciary Mean to Me?”
High School and Middle School winners Isabelle Scott and Alexander Ashman visiting the Supreme Court on March 17, 2017.
Middle School Contest Winners:
1st Place: Alexander Ashman, for his essay “True Justice”
2nd Place: Jivan Jot Kaur Khalsa
3rd Place: Jonah Gilbert
High School Contest Winners:
1st Place: Isabelle Scott, for her essay “Fear Free”
2nd Place: Stephanie Besen
3rd Place: Jacob Couture
Excellence in Civics Education Award
2017 was also the first year that the FBA recognized teachers around the country for their dedication to civics education. 22 teachers who were nominated by students and colleagues were awarded the Excellence in Civics Education Award. See below for a list of this year’s awardees by circuit.
2nd Circuit
David A. Scott, Northport-East Northport School District
Douglas Elliot, Gelinas Junior High School
3rd Circuit
Lisa Carney, St. Bernadette of Lourdes School
4th Circuit
Susan Boroughs, Granby High School
Nicholas McDaniels, Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School
Bob Knight, Bull Run Middle School
5th Circuit
Christine McCrory, Lafayette High School
Dawn Blake, Allen High School
6th Circuit
Joe Foster, Hardin Northern High School
Erica Griggs, L&N STEM Academy
Jennifer Forshey, Rocky River High School
David Volkman, Loveland High School
Jonathan L. Entin, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Fred Cole, Marquette Senior High School
Eric Hanna, Olentangy Shanahan Middle School
Tyler Johnson, Ohio Connections Academy
7th Circuit
Shannon Arko, Jefferson Middle School
Rebecca Daen, Legal Prep Charter Academy
8th Circuit
Derek Bridges, Clark Elementary School
9th Circuit
Dr. Homee F. Shroff, BASIS Tucson Northern High School
Jon Labrousse, Ridgeline Montessorie
11th Circuit
Karen Wozniak, West Laurens High School