Civics Contest Winners Honored at Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference

 

The audience viewed the winning video entry by Luke Blue during the Civics Contest Reception at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Portland.

 

The audience viewed the winning video entry by Luke Blue during the Civics Contest Reception at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Portland.

 

Civics Contest winners Luke Blue and Liam Hutchison received their awards from District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr.

 

Civics Contest winners Luke Blue and Liam Hutchison received their awards from District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr.

 

During the panel discussion, civics contest winners Liam Hutchison and Luke Blue discussed nuances of contest and their entries with members of the PICO committee.

 

During the panel discussion, civics contest winners Liam Hutchison and Luke Blue discussed nuances of contest and their entries with members of the PICO committee.

On July 31, first-place winners of the 2023 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest—Liam Hutchison and Luke Blue—were celebrated at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference held in Portland, Oregon. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia congratulated the students in person.

The theme of this year’s Civics Contest was “The 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution—What Should Our Next Amendment Be?” Students were challenged to think about what amendment they would propose and why, and how they would get their amendment ratified.

Hutchison, from Punahou School in Honolulu, with his essay, and Blue, from Mt. Spokane High School in Mead, Washington, with his video entry, each won a $3,000 prize and a paid trip to the Judicial Conference.  This year, PICO also awarded two honorable mention prizes, one in each category, for the first time since the circuit-wide contest began in 2016.

Chief Judge Murguia thanked the Ninth Circuit’s Public Information and Community Outreach (PICO) committee for their efforts to promote civics education throughout the circuit. “I’m so grateful for the work that every district does in promoting civics education,” she said. “I’m truly delighted that so many young people in our circuit answered the call for submission. “I feel honored to personally congratulate this year’s winners. We value your ideas, thoughtful essays, and creative video submissions.”

“Our legal constitutional future lies in the hands of our young people,” said Justice Kagan. “I encourage them to learn more about our system of government, and our legal system in particular. I thank the Ninth Circuit for making civics education a priority and I’m delighted to be associated with it myself. It is one of the most important things that any of us judges can do.

“Congratulations to everybody who won, placed or showed in this extremely competitive event and thanks again to the Ninth Circuit judges and administrators and everybody else who makes such a priority of this event.”

“Meeting all of the different judges was an awesome experience,” said Hutchison. “They all congratulated me on my contest entry and were interested in my next steps. I even got to see (District) Judge (Jill) Otake from my home state of Hawaii, which was a nice experience. I was very nervous to meet so many accomplished people, but everyone was down-to-earth and approachable.

“I really do believe that this contest is an amazing opportunity for students to take part in, as the opportunity for learning is great. Being able to answer questions from members of the PICO committee allowed me to share my experiences with everyone, and I hope that I am able to encourage more students to enter the contest,” Hutchison concluded.

Federal courts in all 15 judicial districts in the Ninth Circuit held local contests with winners who went on to compete in the circuit-wide contest. Of the 966 essays and 86 video entries received, 45 essays and 30 videos from the local contests advanced to the circuit level. Of the entries that advanced, 12 essays and 10 videos were selected for final consideration by PICO committee members, judges, court and unit executives, and attorneys. Blind judging was used throughout the judging process. Winning essays and videos are posted on the civics contest website (https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/civicscontest).

The competition was open to students in grades 9-12 in public, private and parochial schools and home-schooled students of equivalent grade status in nine western states and two Pacific island jurisdictions. Prizes and contest-related expenditures are funded through attorney admission fees collected by the federal courts in the Ninth Circuit to fund educational programs for the bar and the community.

PICO was established in 2000 by the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit, the governing body for federal courts in the West. The committee seeks to promote public understanding of and confidence in the judicial system through civics education and outreach to the community and media. The committee includes federal judges, court executives, attorneys, and court staff.

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