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Chief Judge Mary Murguia

Civics Contest Winners Expand on Views, Meet Supreme Court Justices

November 15, 2024
By William Cracraft

Civics Contest video winners respond to questions during the panel session of the civics contest reception at the 2024 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Sacramento.

2024 civics contest winners participated in a panel discussion with District Judge Krissa M. Lanham, District of Arizona, and District Judge Cathy A. Bencivengo, Southern District of California.

Senior District Judge John A. Kronstadt, Central District of California, chair of the Ninth Circuit Public Information and Community Outreach (PICO) Committee, joined Colin Williams, first place essay winner from Sprague High School, Salem, Oregon, for a photo at the reception.

Senior District Judge John A. Kronstadt, Central District of California, chair of the Ninth Circuit Public Information and Community Outreach (PICO) Committee, joined Vivan Patel, Mihir Sahani and Aayush Shah, from BASIS Chandler in Chandler, Arizona, creators of the first place video, for a photo at the civics contest reception.

The Ninth Circuit Civics Contest reception is one of the highlights of the yearly Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and, this year, the reception showcased the very bright student-winners who also got to meet two U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Senior District Judge John A. Kronstadt, Central District of California, chair of the Ninth Circuit Public Information and Community Outreach (PICO) Committee, began the reception by saying that there were 737 essays and 88 video entries in 2024 and that the winners survived three rounds of judging to win. “We are truly proud of these high-achieving honorees,” said Judge Kronstadt, noting the contest is in its ninth year and that there have been over 12,000 participants who submitted over 9,000 essays and 900 videos.

Winners, this year, are Colin Williams, first place essay winner from Sprague High School, Salem, Oregon, with his essay titled, “The Triumph of Brown v. Board,” and Vivan Patel, Mihir Sahani and Aayush Shah, from BASIS Chandler in Chandler, Arizona, creators of the first place video, “Brown v. Board of Education and its Impact on Present Day Society.”

First-place prize in each category is $3,000, second place is $1,700 and third place is $1,000. For video teams, their prize is divided equally. See the Civics Contest web page and the contest booklet for more information about the winners.

In his remarks, Judge Kronstadt noted two other related critical events that occurred in July: the Battle of Gettysburg which began on July 1, 1863, and was the turning point in the American Civil War, and on July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race in public accommodations, publicly owned or operated facilities, employment and unions, and in voter registration.

After an introduction by Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia, Senior Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court, took the podium.

“Civics, properly understood, is something we must learn and then that we must teach from the time of childhood, in your early years until and through your adult years,” said Justice Kennedy. “Civics is really an understanding of what democracy is, what its triumphs were, what its tragedies were, what its destiny is, what its purpose is—and it is to protect freedom. That’s what civics is all about. Civics should teach us—must teach us—that the whole idea of democracy is that we can have a civil, polite conversation. We don’t have to be a hostile, fractious community. We can disagree but do so in a principled decent way where we respect the dignity of each other. That is the freedom that you learn in civics and that is why you are here.

“Brown v. Board of Education was issued in May when I was a senior in high school,” Justice Kennedy continued. “My father was a solo practitioner here in Sacramento. He was able to get a copy of the opinion in three days. We were particularly interested because we knew Earl Warren (chief justice of the United States, 1953-1969) well … our families were good friends. The opinion, as you know, was unanimous. Warren worked until the last minute to make sure that it was unanimous—no separate opinions. He had the famous footnote 11, in which he talks about the fact that sociologists tell us that it is of the utmost importance that we treat people not according to the color of their skin, and he says that separate but equal is inherently unequal. This was a great lesson. My father told me, ‘you read this opinion because it is one of the most important that the Supreme Court ever wrote and you will hear about it the rest of your life. It should change the way you think and I think about race.’ It took some time before the nation accepted Brown in its soul and we still have work to do. You show by your interest in this subject and by your being here that we still have much work to be done but that we can still be proud to be Americans,” Justice Kennedy said.

Winners accepted their awards and certificates at the podium, and the winning video was played for the audience. Following the presentation of awards, the students participated in a panel discussion with District Judge Krissa M. Lanham, District of Arizona, and District Judge Cathy A. Bencivengo, Southern District of California. The students gave thoughtful responses to what followed the Brown v. Board decision in terms of negative societal reactions, such as the dismissal of many Black teachers following the decision. Other questions dealt with the value of civics classes, in-class video games and reenactments that teach civics lessons like how gerrymandering works, how bills are worked through Congress, and role playing as Supreme Court justices, the president or other executive roles.

Chief Judge Murguia again took the podium. “Congratulations, again, to all the winners,” she said. “We are so pleased to have you and to recognize you and your wonderful achievement. You give us hope and inspiration and confidence in the future.” She then introduced U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

Justice Kagan thanked the committee and all who participated in judging. “What you do is incredibly important in getting all these kids to think about these important issues of our government and our society and our law,” she said. “Mostly, I want to thank the students. How extraordinary was (the panel discussion)? I know that one of you may be thinking about college, maybe the other three—rising sophomores!—I think maybe (you can) just skip to law school. Or who needs law school? I have some openings in my chambers,” she said to appreciative laughter. “That was wonderful, wonderful and so sophisticated, and more than civic minded. Really nuanced and sophisticated and smart and we all learned something from it as we sat here.”

Justice Kagan presented each student with a signed booklet of the U.S. Constitution and stood for a photo with them.

Chief Judge Murguia returned to the podium and acknowledged the PICO Committee. “They do a lot of work throughout the year to encourage doing this interactive work with the communities,” she said. “There are a lot of mock trial programs going on in courts at district, magistrate and bankruptcy levels. That does not get all the publicity I wish it did. Sometimes we’re focused on the negative and not on the positive, and I just want to put a good word in on the wonderful work that they do.”

Judge Kronstadt then took the podium and closed the reception, leading the students in a moving reading of the Preamble to the Constitution.

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