Criminal Justice Reform Writing Contest

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The Academy for Justice and Arizona State Law Journal Present: The Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition

The 2024 contest is currently closed and a winner has been chosen. Please check back at a future date for the 2025 competition.

The Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor of Law and Arizona State Law Journal are seeking applicants for the 2024 Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition to promote legal scholarship of criminal justice reform.

The amount of $1,000 in prize money will be awarded, and the winner’s article will be considered for publication in Arizona State Law Journal.

This national writing competition seeks to promote legal scholarship centering on criminal justice reform. Applicants are encouraged to write on any topic related to criminal justice reform with a focus on offering a recommendation or solution to the problem(s) being highlighted. Applicants are required to be enrolled full-time at an ABA-accredited law school at the time of submission.

To learn more, please visit the Arizona State Law Journal.

The Arizona State Law Journal and the Academy for Justice’s selection focuses on clarity, accessibility of the arguments, practical relevance, measured tone, and non-partisan solutions in their decision.

How to apply?

To apply, email article submissions to AJ.ASLJ.crimlawwritingcomp@gmail.com by July 1, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Winners will be notified in August. 

  • Applicants must be enrolled full-time at an ABA-accredited law school at the time of submission.
  • Applicants may write on any criminal justice topic, but all submissions should offer recommendation(s) or solution(s) to the problem(s) being highlighted.
  • Articles must be no longer than 10,000 words, including footnotes. Shorter articles are also encouraged.
  • Article selection criteria will include clarity, accessibility of arguments, practical relevance, measured tone, and discussion of nonpartisan recommendation(s) or solution(s).

Recent winner

2024 winner: Rachel Kaplan, from Arizona State University, provides a summary of her paper Navigating the Haze: Arizona’s Cannabis Legalization, Zero Tolerance DUI Statutes, and the Need for Scientific Clarity. Kaplan’s paper was the winning submission for the 2024 Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition presented by the Arizona State Law Journal and the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Past winners

2023 winner: Katherine Greer provides a summary of her paper, Multistate Failure: Advocating for an Affirmative Defense for Sex-Trafficking Victims in Line with Feminist Legal Reasoning. Greer’s paper was the winning submission of the 2023 Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition presented by the Arizona State Law Journal and the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Read Katherine Greer’s paper

2022 winner: Sydney Plaskett from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, discusses her winning paper, “What Miranda Can Learn From Batson: The Need to Eliminate Arbitrary Judicial Analysis of Vulnerable Constitutional Rights, analogizes Miranda’s downfall to that of Batson v. Kentucky”. The paper provides an overview of Miranda and of Batson and includes suggestions for policy reform and rule changes, as well as a state constitutional amendment approach.

Read Sydney Plaskett’s paper

2021 winner: Alanna Otsby from Arizona State University, provides a summary of her paper “The Myth of Conflicting Interests: Guarding a Victims Right to be Called the Victim During Trial.” Otsby’s paper was the winning submission for 2021 The Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition presented by the Arizona State Law Journal and the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Read Alanna Ostby’s Paper

2020 winner: Olivia Meme from the University of California, Irvine School of Law, provides a summary of her paper “The Unkindness of Fate: Why Atkins v. Virginia Demands Extension to Capital Defendants with a Cluster B Personality Disorder.” Meme’s paper was the winning submission for 2020 The Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition presented by the Arizona State Law Journal and the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Read Olivia Meme’s Paper

Honorable mentions

2020 Honorable Mention: Emily Winborn of The University of Akron School of Law provides a summary of her paper “Let Them Be Little – Keeping Juveniles Out of the Adult Criminal Justice System.” Winborn’s paper was a runner up for 2020 The Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition presented by the Arizona State Law Journal and the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Read Emily Winborn’s Paper

2020 Honorable Mention: Sarah Stein of Fordham University School of Law provides her paper “Decriminalizing Kink: A Proposal For Explicit Legalization Of Sexually Motivated Consensual Harm.” Stein’s paper was a runner up for the 2020 The Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition presented by the Arizona State Law Journal and the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Read Sarah Stein’s Paper