The Law Day Essay Contest and Law Day Luncheon are jointly sponsored by the Nebraska State Bar Foundation, its Center for Law-Related Education, and the Nebraska Supreme Court. Each year this day is set aside to celebrate and enjoy our freedoms. It focuses on our heritage of liberty under law and how the rule of law makes our democracy possible.
The Bar Foundation is pleased that Omaha law firm McGrath North Mullin & Kratz, PC LLO sponsored the Law Day Essay Contest Scholarship again for the third year. Essay-contest winners in grades 9-12 were entered into a drawing for a 10-day session of the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC). Mark Lutkemeier, a senior from Silver Lake High School, was the 2009 recipient of the scholarship.
This year marked the tenth anniversary of the Foundation and the Nebraska Supreme Court’s co-sponsorship of the annual Law Day Essay Contest. Borrowing from the State Motto, the organizations chose the 2009 Law Day theme, “Equality Before the Law.” Since this year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the theme will also cast light on Lincoln’s legacy of human rights.
Members of the Bar Foundation's Public Education and Outreach Promoting Law & Equity (PEOPLE) Committee served as judges for the essay contest for which winners were recognized at the Law Day Luncheon in Lincoln on April 23. Invitations, as well as classroom resources, were sent to over 2,000 secondary teachers of Social Studies, English, and Business Law. The contest was open to all Nebraska students in grades 7-12.
Following the luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion, contest winners and their guests adjourned to the Nebraska Supreme Court in the Capitol for a Chautauqua-style presentation by Elena Dodd. Ms. Dodd portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt. Audience members had an opportunity to interact with “Eleanor,” who was instrumental in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. For Recommended Reading, click here.
Ms. Dodd’s appearance in celebration of Law Day was made possible by sponsorship from Thomson Reuters. She no longer tours nationally after this event. A grant from the Nebraska Humanities Council provided support for many of her performances in 2008 and 2009. For more information on the presentation itself, click here.
The 2009 question is as follows:
For entry information, please see the Invitation Letter to the right.
The Law Day Essay Contest attracts essays from students across the state, competing by grade level, grades 7-12. By researching and writing about a topic related to the annual Law Day theme, students can gain a deeper understanding of and make a stronger connection with our heritage of liberty and the citizenship it requires to keep our country free.
The Essay Contest culminates each May on Law Day (on or near May 1). Winners are selected from each grade level, and they, their teachers and parents are invited to a special recognition luncheon on Law Day in Lincoln. Students are not asked to read their essays; however, copies of the writers’ winning work are bound and displayed at the luncheon.
| 2009 Law Day Luncheon Thursday, April 23, 2009 Nebraska Governor's Residence 14th and H Streets Lincoln, Nebraska |
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The Foundation would like to extend a
special thank-you to  and  for their generous donations helping cover the cost of Law Day 2009. |
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2009 Law Day
Essay Contest Winners 7th Grade
8th Grade 9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade Ethan Steiner
Hartington Public School Hartington Brooklyn Swantek McCool Junction Middle School McCool Junction Hannah Opfer Blair Senior High School Blair Katie Nelson Duchesne Academy Omaha Kathryn Vampola Arlington High School Arlington Mark Lutkemeier Silver Lake High School Roseland |
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2009 Essay Contest
and Luncheon Luncheon Picture Gallery
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Prior Year Essay Contest
and Luncheon |
Law Day Essay Contest Scholarship
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Law Day Essay Contest and Luncheon
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| Elena Dodd as Eleanor Roosevelt |
Members of the Bar Foundation's Public Education and Outreach Promoting Law & Equity (PEOPLE) Committee served as judges for the essay contest for which winners were recognized at the Law Day Luncheon in Lincoln on April 23. Invitations, as well as classroom resources, were sent to over 2,000 secondary teachers of Social Studies, English, and Business Law. The contest was open to all Nebraska students in grades 7-12.
Following the luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion, contest winners and their guests adjourned to the Nebraska Supreme Court in the Capitol for a Chautauqua-style presentation by Elena Dodd. Ms. Dodd portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt. Audience members had an opportunity to interact with “Eleanor,” who was instrumental in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. For Recommended Reading, click here.
Ms. Dodd’s appearance in celebration of Law Day was made possible by sponsorship from Thomson Reuters. She no longer tours nationally after this event. A grant from the Nebraska Humanities Council provided support for many of her performances in 2008 and 2009. For more information on the presentation itself, click here.
The 2009 question is as follows:
How does the United States’ legal system promote the ideals expressed by President Abraham Lincoln in the first sentence of the Gettysburg Address given on November 19, 1863?
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth
on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth
on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
For entry information, please see the Invitation Letter to the right.
The Law Day Essay Contest attracts essays from students across the state, competing by grade level, grades 7-12. By researching and writing about a topic related to the annual Law Day theme, students can gain a deeper understanding of and make a stronger connection with our heritage of liberty and the citizenship it requires to keep our country free.
The Essay Contest culminates each May on Law Day (on or near May 1). Winners are selected from each grade level, and they, their teachers and parents are invited to a special recognition luncheon on Law Day in Lincoln. Students are not asked to read their essays; however, copies of the writers’ winning work are bound and displayed at the luncheon.
