Minnesota Women Lawyers
 

 

MWL Equal Justice Award

All Minnesota Law Students are invited to submit articles or essays they have written on a topic involving Equal Justice. 

Submissions are judged on the following criteria:

Significance: Does the work address an important legal and social issue of justice and equality?

Originality: Does the work make an original contribution to the topic?  For example, does it reinterpret an issue, offer new solutions to a problem, or suggest new connections between areas of analysis?  Does it draw on materials that shed new light on a topic?  Does it offer a new perspective, solution, or approach to an issue?

Presentation: Is the scholarship factually accurate?  Is the paper well written?  Does the author address the issue using appropriate methodology, well designed to serve the author's purpose?  Does the paper display appropriate depth of research?  Does the paper place its analysis appropriately in the scholarly field?

Persuasiveness: Does the paper present a cogent defense of the position taken?  Does it give appropriate attention to competing views?  Does the author's argument persuade the reader?

Impact: Does the work present ideas that are applicable in practical contexts?  Are the ideas useful to the educated reader?

The writer of the selected article or essay will be awarded a cash prize of $1,000.00 at MWL’s 36th Annual Meeting to be held on May 15, 2008 at Windows on Minnesota, IDS Tower in Minneapolis (11:30 a.m. registration; 12:00 noon luncheon and program)

Submissions should include:

bullet

A cover letter with the writer's name, address, phone number, school of attendance and year in school, and a statement indicating whether the essay or article has been edited by or with the assistance of a third party;

bulletIf the essay or article has been edited, include a copy of the final draft prior to being edited by or with the assistance of a third party; or provide a detailed description of the editing process (for example, who provided the editing assistance, what changes were made as the result of the third party editing, how many drafts went through the editing process, etc.);
bulletFIVE hardcopies of the article or essay to be judged.  Electronic submissions will also be accepted and can be emailed to dpexa@mwlawyers.org.
bulletNOTE:  All submissions, either hardcopy or electronic, must NOT include the student's name, school or other identifying information.  The cover letter is the only element of the submission which may contain identifying information.

Submissions should be sent to Minnesota Women Lawyers; 600 Nicollet Mall, Suite 390B; Minneapolis, MN 55402 or via email to dpexa@mwlawyers.org.   Call the MWL office at 612/338-3205 with any questions. 

To be considered for the 2008 MWL Equal Justice Award, submissions must be received by at the MWL office by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 18th, 2008.


Past Award Recipients:

1991  

Kent Williams  (University of Minnesota; Property Rights Protection Under Article I, Section 10 of the Minnesota Constitution:  A Rationale for Providing Possessory Crimes Defendants with Automatic Standing to Challenge Unreasonable Searches and Seizures)

1993  

Karen A. Brooks  (Hamline University; The New Stalking Laws: Are They Adequate to End Violence?)

1994  

Margaret Hobday  (University of Minnesota; A Constitutional Response to the Realities of intimate Violence: Minnesota's Domestic Homicide Statute)
1995  

Robin Preble  (?; Family Violence and Family Property: A proposal for Reform)
  

Johanna Bond  (University of Minnesota; Postmodern Insight into the Rigidity of Gender Categories: The Case for Prohibiting the Sexual Harassment of Gay Men and Lesbian Women)

1996  

Nancy Brasel  (University of Minnesota; Taking Back Equal Protection:  Virginia Military Institute, Real Women, and Real Choices)

1997  

Sandra R. Levitsky  (University of Minnesota; Footnote 55: Closing the 'Bisexual Defense' Loophole in Title VII Sexual Harassment Cases)

1998  

Cynthia Frost (University of Minnesota; Shahar v. Bowers: that girl just didn't have good sense!)

1999  

Jill C. Robertson (University of Minnesota; Addressing Domestic Violence in the Workplace: An Employer's Responsibility)

2000  

Heidi Johnson (University of Minnesota;  Against Their Will:  The Trafficking of Women for Prostitution in Southern Asia)

2001  

Nicole Saharsky (University of Minnesota;  Consistency as a Constitutional Value: A Comparative Look at Age in Abortion and Death Penalty Jurisprudence)
2002 Maura Shuttleworth (University of Minnesota; No Remedy:  The Under-representation of Women in Political Office and the Absence of a Voting Rights Act for Women.)   
2003 No Award Presented
2004

Jennifer Fischer (University of Minnesota; The Americans with Disabilities Act: Correcting Discrimination of Persons with Mental Disabilities in the Pre-Trial Process)
2005 Amy Draeger (Hamline University School of Law;  The Asylum Narrative:  Retelling Torture in America)
2006

Jennifer C. Johnson ( University of Minnesota Law School; Race-Based Housing Importunities: The Disparate Impact of Realistic Group Conflict)
2007 Shawn Stuckey ( University of St. Thomas School of Law; Decreasing the Accessibility to Criminal History Records to Diminish the Devastating Impacts of Collateral Effects on African Americans in Minnesota)

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