The Florida Bar Association has announced a new essay contest for high school students of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The prompt for this essay commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party which happened as a result of the colonists’ frustrations with taxation without representation.
While paying taxes may not apply to students, governance without representation might still resonate. The prompt challenges students to give a personal example of when they were “governed without say” at some point in their lives. The prompt further explains that students should relate their unjust governance to the Constitution and its amendments.
All essays must respond to the prompt and must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document, PDF, or Word Perfect. Essays must be capped at 1,000 words, all essays must have some sort of citation or bibliography, and must incorporate a certification promising that the essay represents the student’s own, original work.
Essays will be scored by judges and lawyers based on the explanation of being governed without representation, creativity in selection, analysis of the Constitution and its language, as well as writing style. All papers are due September 29th at noon and must be submitted through the online entry form on the Middle District of Florida District Court website.
The top 10 finalists will be announced on the contest website no later than November 9, 2023. Winners will be announced and prizes will be awarded at a ceremony at the George C. Young Federal Annex Courthouse in Orlando, Florida on a date to be determined.
The first-place essay will receive $2,000 and will be able to shadow an Orlando Division United States District Judge at a suitable date. The 2nd place finisher will receive $1,000 and the 3rd place essay is awarded $500. Teachers of the top 3 winners will receive a $500 grant. The school with the most qualifying submissions will receive a $1,000 grant and 4th through 10th place finishers will receive $150.
