ELIGIBILITY: The contest is open to all students who are members of the American Bar Association and who, at the date the entry is submitted, attend and are in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions. Membership in the Criminal Justice Section is not a requirement.
TOPIC: SOCIAL MEDIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR CRIMINAL LAW, PRACTICE, AND PROCEDURE. Any timely and important topic relating to developments in criminal law or procedure influenced by or related to social media. Such topics might include the Fourth Amendment implications of social media in criminal matters, privacy interests, the role or impact of social media on other substantive legal issues or investigative practices and the ethical implications relating to the same, the use of social media evidence in investigations and trials, and the impact and influence of social media on jurors.
JUDGING: A winning entry will contain an original discussion of the selected topic, will be substantively accurate and supported by citations, and be grammatically correct, concise, and clearly written. The Section reserves the right not to award a prize if, in the judgment of the magazine editorial board, no entry meets these conditions. The decision of the editorial board is final.
PRIZE: The winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize and airfare and accommodations to attend a Section meeting at which the award will be presented. In addition, the winner’s law school will receive a plaque from the ABA’s Criminal Justice Section. At the discretion of the editorial board, the winning entry may be selected for publication in Criminal Justice magazine, subject to editing.
ALL ENTRANTS: Receive one year’s free full membership in the Criminal Justice Section.
CONDITIONS: Only original and unpublished papers are eligible. Papers prepared for law school credit are eligible provided they are the entrant’s original work. Jointly authored papers are not eligible. Participants are encouraged, but not required, to have their work reviewed and critiqued by a faculty member or practicing lawyer, although the submission must be the student’s own work product. The name of the reviewing faculty member or lawyer must be listed on the cover page of the entry. Section officers, staff, Criminal Justice magazine editorial board and selection committee members shall not participate in this process. A student may submit only one entry per contest year.
FORMAT: Entries cannot exceed 4,200 words, including titles, text, and citations. Entries may be submitted in Word or WordPerfect as (1) an e-mail attachment, or (2) on standard, 8½ x 11 inch paper, double-spaced. (The winning entry must be available in electronic format.) Entries should reflect the style and format of Criminal Justice magazine, including citations that are embedded in text. Entries with footnotes or endnotes will not be accepted. Citations must conform to the 19th edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.
SUBMISSION – ALL ENTRIES: Two title pages are required. The first title page must include:
(1) Title of paper
(2) Last six digits of author’s Social Security number
(3) Author’s name
(4) Telephone number(s), mailing addresses, and e-mail addresses where author can be reached May–August 2013
(5) Name of law school
(6) Year of expected graduation
(7) Date submitted for academic credit (if applicable)
(8) Name of individual who reviewed the paper (if applicable)
(9) Entrant’s personal certification of good standing at the law school
The second title page should include only:
(1) Title
(2) Last six digits of the author’s Social Security number
SUBMISSION – PAPER ENTRIES: Six copies required. (See “SUBMISSION–All Entries” above for format.)
DEADLINE: Entries must be received by the editor no later than April 10, 2013. Paper entries must be postmarked on or before that date by US mail or a recognized commercial express service. Faxed entries will not be accepted. The winner will be notified by June 04, 2013.
SEND ENTRIES to MaryAnn Dadisman, Editor, Criminal Justice Magazine [MS20.1], American Bar Association, 321N. Clark St., Chicago, IL60654-7598 or via e-mail.
For more information about the Section, programs for law students, and Criminal Justice magazine, visit the website.
