Contest Rules
Sponsors
The lawyers and judges of the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, through the Middle District Bench Bar Fund and the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Eligibility
The contest is open to students currently in grades 9 through 12 in counties in the Tampa Division of the Middle District of Florida: Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota Counties. Students in the 9th through 12th grades attending public, private, parochial and charter schools, and home-schooled and virtual students of equivalent grade status are invited to participate. Children, grandchildren, stepchildren, and members of the household of a federal judge, a federal court employee, or a member of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association are excluded.
Submission Deadline
November 4, 2022, by 12:00 p.m. (noon) EST.
Grounds for Disqualification
Submitting an essay that
- does not comply with these Contest Rules;
- is not the student's original, authored work;
- provides fake entry information; or
- plagiarizes content.
All decisions of disqualification will be final.
Essay Requirements
- Essays must respond to the prompt.
- Essays must be typed and submitted as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or WordPerfect (.wpd) document.
- Essays may not exceed 1,000 words not including citations.
- Citations must be placed in footnotes, endnotes, or bibliographies.
Essay Submission
Only one essay may be submitted per student. All essays must be submitted online on or before the submission deadline. Hard-copy or late submissions will not be accepted. Please complete your essay before starting the online contest entry form, which includes instructions for its completion.
To submit an essay, a student must:
- Complete and submit the online contest entry form; and
- Upload an essay that complies with the "Essay Requirements."
Scoring of Qualifying Submissions
The essays will be judged by lawyers and judges in the Tampa Division. Their decisions will be final.
Recognition
Winners will be announced and recognized at a special ceremony at the Sam M. Gibbons United States Courthouse in December, 2022. The first place winner will be invited to shadow a judge at a mutually agreeable weekday and time. The top ten finalists will be announced on the Middle District’s website no later than November 30, 2022.
Submission of IRS Form W-9
To comply with the Internal Revenue Code, the first and second place winners will be required to complete and provide the Court with an IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, prior to receipt of their prize monies.
License to Use Essays, Names, and Photographs
Winners will be required to submit a release allowing the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the Tampa Chapter of the Federal Bar Association to publish their essays in print or on their websites. In addition, winners will be asked to provide and authorize use of photographs of themselves in contest-related promotional materials, which may include photographs taken at the courthouse.