District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands

N E W S   R E L E A S E

Ninth Circuit Extends Civics Contest Deadline

SAN FRANCISCO – It’s not too late for students to get their essay and/or video entries submitted. Deadline has been extended to submit entries for the 2022 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest, an essay and video competition for high school students sponsored by the federal courts of the western United States. Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on March 28, 2022.

“The First Amendment and the Schoolhouse Gate: Students’ Free Speech Rights” is the theme of this year’s contest. The contest asks students to address “What are students’ free speech rights – and responsibilities – on and off campus?” Participants are asked to consider what rights the First Amendment provides to students engaging in free speech, both inside and outside of school. Participants also should consider the responsibilities, if any, that students, schools, or the government have with respect to speech by students, including whether it may cause harm to others.

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 participate in the contest. First-place winners of the essay and video portion of the contest at the circuit level will be invited to attend the 2022 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Big Sky, Montana. A total of $11,400 in cash prizes will be awarded in the circuit-wide contest. The top three finishers in both the essay and video competitions will receive a total of $3,000 for first place, $1,700 for second place and $1,000 for third place. Many students also have a chance to win cash prizes in local competitions sponsored by the individual judicial districts that will select their finalists for the circuit-wide contest.

The contest is sponsored by the Ninth Circuit’s Public Information and Community Outreach (PICO) Committee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. district and bankruptcy courts in the 15 judicial districts that comprise the Ninth Circuit. For more information, visit https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/civicscontest. Finalists will be announced in May and the winners in June.

# # #