American Judge’s Association’s 23rd Annual Law Student Essay Contest

Students were asked to write an essay addressing the question of whether “a minor student should be given his or her rights, including a Miranda warning and the right to have a parent present before being questioned by police on school grounds?”

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The American Judges Association offers the competition as a means of supporting future shining stars of the legal profession, as well as the school's they attend. According to Judge Charles Gill of Litchfield Superior Court, the American Judge's Association recognizes that these individuals “are the future of the law and its positive protections efforts for our society.”

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Stephanie Forbes of William and Mary Law School walked away with the first prize for her essay “Reading, Writing and Interrogating: Providing Miranda Warnings to Students in Schoolhouse Interrogations.”

The second prize went to Daniel Paterno of the Dickinson School of Law. Paterno submitted an essay entitled, “School's Out? Factoring a Student's Age into Miranda Custody Calculus.”

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Daniel Erwin's essay, “Hear My Words That I Might Teach You: The Rights to Silence and Counsel Down at the School Yard” won third place. Erwin wrote the essay last year, as a Quinnipiac University Law student in Hamden, Connecticut. His essay contended that any student who is questioned on school grounds is at a distinct disadvantage due to the fact that he or she must deal with both the police and school authority at the same time. Erwin argued that students should be Mirandized and granted the option of having a parent present prior to questioning to avoid making statements that could be damaging to his or her case.

Next year's essay topic questions if it is “constitutional for a legislative body to require a DNA test for all persons arrested and charged with a felony?” The contest is open to all full-time students who are currently attending an accredited law school in either the US or Canada. Essays should be between 10 and 25 pages in length and must be received by June 1, 2012. The top essay may be featured in the American Judges Association's Journal.

The American Judges Association, which was initially established as the National Association of Municipal Judges (NAMJ), has more than 3,000 members. Its mission is “to promote and improve the effective administration of justice; to maintain the status and independence of the judiciary; to provide a forum for the continuing education of its members and the general public; and for the exchange of new ideas among all judges.”

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