ABA LAW STUDENT DIVISION – COMPETITIONS & WRITING CONTESTS
14TH ANNUAL SECTION OF TAXATION LAW STUDENT TAX CHALLENGE [DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 7, 2014 BY 5 P.M. EST]
13TH ANNUAL HEALTH LAW WRITING COMPETITION [DEADLINE: DECEMBER 5, 2014 BY 12 P.M. CT]
BUSINESS LAW SECTION MENDES HERSHMAN WRITING CONTEST [DEADLINE: JANUARY 9, 2015]
THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL OF LAW 1ST ANNUAL JAMESON CRANE III DISABILITY & THE LAW WRITING COMPETITION [DEADLINE: JANUARY 15, 2015]
Topic: Submitted papers may be on any topic relating to disability law including, legal issues arising with respect to employment, government services and programs, public accommodations, education, higher education, housing, and health care
PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION’S LAW STUDENT WRITING COMPETITION [DEADLINE: JANUARY 16, 2015 BY 5 P.M. PST]
Topics:
- In Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992), the Supreme Court held that a land use restriction that eliminates all economically beneficial use of property effects a taking for which the owner is entitled to just compensation. But it held that compensation is not required when the restriction “inhere[s] in the title itself … [as part of] background principles of the State’s law of property and nuisance.” What are, or should be, the limits on the power of courts to interpret these background principles?
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 imposes liability for discrimination if the plaintiff proves that the defendant employs policies that have a “disparate impact” on members of a minority group. Is “disparate impact” a proper test for determining that a defendant has engaged in illegal discrimination — or does imposing such liability itself violate the constitutional right to equal protection?
- In the past, environmental regulations focused primarily on local pollution concerns — for example, on protecting species in a particular location or preventing pollution of rivers and streams. But the focus of the environmental debate is increasingly shifting to global warming, a phenomenon that would affect the planet as a whole rather than a particular locale. In this new context, how should the government balance environmental protection against constitutional protections and property rights?
SECTION OF FAMILY LAW HOWARD C. SCHWAB MEMORIAL ESSAY CONTEST [DEADLINE: APRIL 17, 2015]