2013 First Amendment Essay Contest

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Deadline Extended

Because of the winter storm and school cancellations, the deadline for entries in the 2013 First Amendment Essay Contest has been extended until the end of Monday, February 11, 2013, at midnight. Email jleblanc@acluct.org with any questions.

Connecticut high school students are invited to enter the 2013 First Amendment Essay Contest sponsored by the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut, with prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250. This year's essay question is:

An amateur anti-Muslim video has been blamed for violent reactions outside the United States, giving rise to the idea of a "foreign policy exception" to the right of free expression. Considering this and other cases, would such an exception be compatible with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

Resources

The following resources can be used as a starting point for your research, but you are encouraged to find additional court cases and other sources of information.

• Brandenburg v. Ohio. This 1969 U.S. Supreme Court decision provides the prevailing interpretation of when the government can suppress inflammatory speech on the grounds that it may incite violence.
  caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=395&invol=444
• Texas v. Johnson. This 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision upheld the right to burn the American flag as a form of symbolic, protected speech.
  caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=491&invol=397
• Snyder v. Phelps. This 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision held that speech on a public sidewalk, about a public issue, cannot be restricted even if it is "outrageous" and causes emotional distress.
  www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-751.pdf
• The World Doesn't Love the First Amendment by Eric Posner. This essay by a professor at the University of Chicago Law School argues that the United States overvalues free speech.
  www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2012/09/the_vile_ anti_muslim_video_and_the_first_amendment_does_the_u_s_overvalue_free_speech_.html
• A "Foreign Policy Exception" to the First Amendment? by Gabe Rottman. This blog entry by the legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's Legislative Office argues that there is no legal basis to suppress the anti-Muslim video.
  www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/foreign-policy-exception-first-amendment

Instructions

Essays should not exceed 1,000 words. When writing your essay you should consider your personal experiences and opinions. Winning entries in the past have been based on students' own opinion and experiences as well as on real cases that have helped develop the law.

Deadline for submissions is February 8, 2013.

The contest is a legacy of the Center for First Amendment Rights, which was merged into the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Connecticut in 2008.

How to submit an entry

Send the following information to info@acluct.org in an email, and attach your essay to the email.

• Your name
• Your home address
• Your phone number
• Your email address
• Your high school

Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged but not required. If you prefer to mail your entry, please send it to ACLU Foundation of Connecticut, 330 Main St., First Floor, Hartford CT 06106.

If you have questions, you may call 860-523-9146 x 8468.

Prizes

All entries will be judged by a balanced panel of experts who will rate entries based on understanding of the First Amendment, persuasiveness, creativity and grammar.

Prizes will be awarded at the at the Annual Milton-Sorokin Symposium at the University of Connecticut School of Law in the spring. The Ethel S. Sorokin First Prize is $1,000, second prize is $500 and third is $250.

Submissions are the property of the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut. Entrants give permission to the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut to take photos of winners for publicity purposes