Hogan/Smoger Access To Justice Essay Contest

For 40 years, this competition was known as the "Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest." It was established in 1970 by the late Roscoe B. Hogan of Birmingham, Alabama, a prominent environemtnal lawyer. The competition provided law students the opportunity to investigate and offer solutions to the many injustices inflicted on the environment.

With additional support from attorney Gerson Smoger -- a past president of Public Justice and current board member -- the contest was renamed, and, beginning with the 2011 competition, expanded to consider not only environmental but all forms of injustice.

The 2012 winning essay, written by Yale Law School student Lewis Bollard, was titled, "Ag-Gag: The Unconstitutionality of Laws Restricting Undercover Investigations on Farms."

For the 2013 contest, writers should address the question, "Is Democracy for Sale?"

• Have Citizens United's holdings run amok?
• Legal challenges left to Super Pacs?
• Can funding disclosure be required?

Prize: $5000 and free 2013 Public Justice membership

Any student currently enrolled in an accredited American law school may enroll in the contest. Each entry must be submitted through a faculty advisor. All entrants must fill out and submit an intent-to-enter form by January 31, 2013 (see link at bottom of page) and mail, fax or e-mail it to: Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest, Public Justice Foundation, Attention: Cassandra Goings, 1825 K St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006. Fax: 202-232-7203. E-mail: cgoings@publicjustice.net.

DEADLINE
Essays must be received by March 31, 2013.

ELIGIBILITY OF ESSAY
If the essay is prepared for academic credit, it is eligible only if submitted for credit during the 2012-13 academic year. If the essay was neither prepared nor submitted for academic credit, it is eligible only if prepared for this contest during the 2012-13 academic year. If the essay was prepared as part of paid legal work outside of law school, it is not eligible for this contest.

ABSTRACT
Students must also submit an abstract (limited to 100 words) describing the paper. Please include name, address, law school and phone number on the abstract. The author's name and law school must NOT appear anywhere in the essay other than on the cover page and abstract.

SUBMISSION
Applicants must submit both hard copy and electronic copy of the essay and the abstract. A hard copy and a burned CD containing the essay and the abstract in Microsoft Word or WordPerfect format should be mailed to Public Justice at the aforementioned address. The pages of the hard copy must be firmly fastened together with a cover page containing the following information:

• Title of Essay (must also appear at the top of the first page of the essay)
• Author's Name
• Author's year in law school and expected graduation date
• Law school name and address
• Date submitted for academic credit, if so submitted
• Author's permanent and school addresses and phone numbers (IMPORTANT: indicate effective dates for all addresses)
• Sponsoring faculty member name and phone number

LENGTH
Essays must not exceed 50 pages of 8½ by 11-inch paper, double-spaced, excluding footnotes.

AUTHORSHIP
Essays must have only one author. Joint essays will not be accepted.

PUBLICATION RIGHTS
Essays will not be returned to the authors, and the judges' comments and evaluations will not be provided to the applicants. Public Justice reserves the non-exclusive right to publish in hard-copy all or part of the essay or abstract at its discretion.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PUBLIC JUSTICE AND THE APPLICANTS
Any questions, clarifications, or requests from the applicant should be communicated to Cassandra Goings at 202-797-8600 or cgoings@publicjustice.net. Please indicate "Access to Justice Essay Contest" in the subject line of your e-mail.

Intent-to-Enter Form