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Writing Competitions for Law Students: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure & Criminal Justice Reform

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Sponsors/facilitators of student writing competitions provide more detailed instructions and rules at their websites.  Students need to review the information and rules available at these websites.  

Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure & Criminal Justice Reform

2025 Annual Law Student Victims' Rights Writing Competition

  • Sponsor: National Crime Victim Law Institute
  • Topic in 2025 Competition was: "Submissions must be original papers that analyze the legal rights of crime victims.  Preference is given to papers focusing on rights enforcement in the context of criminal justice systems, which is the area of victim law that receives the least attention."  The 2025 Competition's web page listed possible topics.
  • Format requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Submissions should be no longer than 3500 words (including footnotes), double-spaced with one-inch margins, and the font must be Times New Roman.  If a submission is an excerpt of a larger paper please indicate that on the first page."  "Submissions may not have been previously published or accepted for publication unless accompanied by written authorization for re-print."
  • Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Authors/presenters must be enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school at the date of their submission or have graduated from such a school within the last 18 months."
  • Prizes in 2025 Competition were: "Up to 3 papers from across the country will be selected. The top paper will receive a $300 prize; second and third-place papers will each receive a $100 prize.  Authors of selected papers will be invited to attend (virtually or in person) and may be invited to present their paper at Conference or a separate national webinar.  Conference tuition will be covered for those selected.  Selected papers may also be included in one of NCVLI’s nationally distributed publications."
  • Deadline in 2025 Competition was: March 31, 2025.  

Blanch Law Firm Scholarship Award - March 2, 2024: Emailed this law firm to verify whether description of this award is current.

  • Sponsor: The Blanch Law Firm
  • Contest Mission & Assignment: "We are looking for an excellent writer to contribute an outstanding article to our online publication....You will then be assigned a topic in the criminal law field that applies to a Federal or State legal issue. Each applicant will be given an outline to guide them on their research and writing."
  • Format: "Essays should have a minimum of 2,500 words. Links to all sources must be included in a footnote."
  • Prize: "Cash award totaling $5,000.  Authorship – publication credit.  An opportunity to come work with our lawyers in New York City for one day."
  • Deadline: "Rolling deadline. Submissions due within 14 days of receipt of assignment."

Marshall M. Schulman 2025 Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure (annual)

  • Sponsor: Criminal Law Section of the California Lawyers Association
  • Topic in 2025 Competition was: "The paper must pertain to criminal law and/or to criminal procedure, with a particular focus on contemporary issues of concern in the State of California.  The paper should be original and scholarly.  It should be appropriately and carefully annotated to reflect the authorities that support the author’s opinions and findings, and upon which the author otherwise relies.  It need not be a law review “note”-style document; past winners have included articles about new developments in criminal procedure, sentencing alternatives, and other topics that may be controversial yet may be dealt with more brevity.  Any and all submissions will be received."  "This is a nationwide competition; while the focus is on California law, past winners have included students attending schools from coast to coast."
  • Format requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Papers should be between 1,500 and 4,500 words in length, including any citations, and should follow the citation style of The Blue Book: A Uniform System of Citation."
  • Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "To be eligible for consideration, the paper must be written solely by a student enrolled in law school at the time the author submits a paper to this Competition.  First-year law students are encouraged to submit entries."   "Papers that have previously been published in a book, journal, magazine, or newspaper are not eligible."
  • Prizes in 2025 Competition were: "Grand Prize: $2,500 cash prize.  The Grand Prize-winning paper will be published in the Criminal Law Journal, the official quarterly publication of the Criminal Law Section [of the California Lawyers Association].  One-year student membership in the Criminal Law Section."  "Three Honorable Mention Prizes: $1,000 cash prize.  Each of the papers awarded Honorable Mention status will be published in the Criminal Law Journal, the official quarterly publication of the Criminal Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.  One-year student membership in the Criminal Law Section."
  • Deadline in 2025 Competition was: Friday, May 30, 2025. 

National Student Writing Competition on Criminal Justice Reform

  • Sponsors: Academy for Justice (Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University) and Arizona State Law Journal
  • Topic in 2025 Competition was: "The Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and Arizona State Law Journal are seeking applicants for the 2025 Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition to promote legal scholarship of criminal justice reform."
  • Format requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Articles must be no longer than 10,000 words, including footnotes. Shorter articles are also encouraged."
  • Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Applicants must be enrolled full-time at an ABA-accredited law school at the time of submission."
  • Article Selection Criteria in 2025 Competition included: "Article selection criteria will include clarity, accessibility of arguments, practical relevance, measured tone, and discussion of nonpartisan recommendation(s) or solution(s)."
  • Prize in 2025 Competition was: "The winner will receive $1,000 in prize money, and the winner’s article will be considered for publication in the Arizona State Law Journal."
  • Deadline in 2025 Competition was: July 1, 2025.

William W. Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition

  • Sponsor: Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association
  • Goal: "[T]o encourage law students to become involved in the Section.  It is also intended to attract students to the Criminal Justice practice field, and to encourage scholarship in this field."
  • Topic in 2025 Competition was: See description of 2025 Competition Topic here, which pertains to "criminally charging parents of children who commit school shootings with involuntary manslaughter."
  • Format requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Only original and unpublished papers are eligible.  Papers prepared for law school credit are eligible provided they are the entrant’s original work.  Jointly authored papers are not eligible.  Participants are encouraged, but not required, to have their work reviewed and critiqued by a faculty member or practicing lawyer, although the submission must be the student’s own work product.  Section officers, section staff, Criminal Justice magazine editorial board members, and selection committee members shall not participate in the review/critique process."  "Entries cannot exceed 4,000 words, including titles, text, and citations.  Entries must be submitted in Word as an e-mail attachment.  Entries should reflect the style and format of Criminal Justice magazine, including citations that are embedded in text.  Entries with footnotes or endnotes will not be accepted.  Citations must conform to the 21st edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation."
  • Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "The contest is open to students who, on the date the entry is submitted, attend and are in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions.  Membership in the Criminal Justice Section is not a requirement. Entrants must be at least 21 years of age and legal permanent residents or citizens of the United States. Employees, officers, directors of the ABA and members of their immediate families are not eligible."
  • Prizes in 2025 Competition were: "The winner will receive a $2,500 cash prize that may be presented at an agreed-upon CJS event with approved transportation costs not to exceed $800 to be covered by the Section.  The winner is solely responsible for taxes on both the cash prize and reimbursed travel.  The winner will be required to submit a completed IRS Form W-9, affidavit of eligibility, tax acknowledgment and liability release for tax purposes as a condition to receiving the cash prize.  All forms must be completed and returned via email to Mitzy Reid at Mitzy.Reid@americanbar.org within ten (10) business days of receipt or prizes will be considered forfeited and another winner may be named.  The decision of the Sponsor is final.  In addition, the winner’s law school will receive a plaque from the ABA’s Criminal Justice Section.  At the sole discretion of the editorial board, the winning entry may be selected for publication in Criminal Justice magazine, subject to editing.  The Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value in its sole discretion.  Prizes are non-transferable and cannot be substituted by the winner.  If his or her entry is selected for publication, the winner will be required to sign the standard ABA copyright  agreement warranting the entry’s originality and granting the ABA first publication rights.  Please note: the ABA must have the first right of publication of the selected essay. All entrants: Receive one year’s free full membership in the Criminal Justice Section."
  • Deadline in 2025 Competition was: July 1, 2025.