District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands

N E W S   R E L E A S E

Ninth Circuit Extends Deadline for Entries in
2021 High School Civics Contest

SAN FRANCISCO – The 2021 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest, an essay and video competition for high school students sponsored by federal courts of the western United States, has been extended. The new deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, April 15, 2021. For more information, visit https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/civicscontest.

In light of the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, some students have returned to school and/or are transitioning to return to school, while other students continue to participate in online distance learning programs. The extended deadline may provide high school students in the western United States and Pacific Islands additional time to submit their essays while they transition back to school or continue their education by distance learning.

“What Does Our American Community Ask of Us?” is the theme of the 2021 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest. The contest focuses on important events in American history and global events that have challenged us to find a balance between inalienable rights and collective responsibilities to each other. Students are asked, “How should we as a society strike the appropriate balance within the framework of our Constitution between safeguarding our rights and fulfilling our responsibilities to each other?”

Students in grades 9-12 in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington state, the U.S. Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands may enter the contest. A total of $11,400 in cash prizes will be awarded in the circuit-wide contest. Many students also have a chance to win cash prizes in local competitions sponsored by the individual judicial districts to select finalists for the circuit-wide contest. Students may enter both the essay and video competitions. A student is allowed to submit one essay as an individual or one video either as an individual or part of a team of up to three students.

The contest is sponsored by the Public Information and Community Outreach committee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the federal district and bankruptcy courts in the 15 judicial districts that comprise the Ninth Circuit. Contest rules and other information are available on the civics contest website.

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