Law Day
Contest Winners
The OBA Law Day Committee would like to thank Oklahoma educators, students and their families for participating in the 2019 Law Day Contest. This year, nearly 1,100 students from across the state entered the contest.
First- through 12th-grade students demonstrated their knowledge of the history and concepts of the theme through essays and multimedia art. Pre-K and kindergarten students were given a choice of coloring activity pages related to the theme, allowing them to show off their budding creative and writing abilities. For both elementary and secondary students, the contest gave them an opportunity to explore how the First Amendment helps guarantee and protect all Americans’ rights. Read about this year's contest on the Contest page.
Click on an entry to see it larger or continue reading.
Grand Prize Winner
Third Grade Art
Elizabeth Kwok, Oklahoma City
Pre-K Coloring
First Place
Jose Garcia, Temple
Second Place
Audrey Ellis, Stillwater
Honorable Mentions
Angus Jenny, Stillwater; Myla VanPelt, Stillwater
Kindergarten Coloring
First Place
Brooklyn Miller, Seiling
Second Place
Alyssa Crawford, Salina
Honorable Mention
Liam Smith, Seiling
First Grade Art
First Place
Brody Gilliam, Stillwater
Second Place
Josie Douglas, Shawnee
First Grade Writing
First Place
Amelia Kwok, Oklahoma City
Second Grade Art
First Place
Emmet Wilson, Stillwater
Second Place
Sophie Buchanan, Harrah
Honorable Mention
Kamden Quinata Stillwater
Second Grade Writing
First Place
Elijah McDaniel, Stillwater
Why The First Amendment is Important
Before the pilgrims came to America, they did not have the freedom to say what they wanted. If they said something bad about the king they could be thrown in jail. Then America won the Revolutionary War. When they were setting up our new government, they made sure that we had lots of freedoms, including the right to say what we believe, even if it isn't the same as our government. This freedom was included in the Bill of Rights, and I am glad I can say what I believe without being afraid of being thrown in jail. Read the full entry.
Second Place
Nia Murimi, Shawnee
Honorable Mention
Bruce Campbell, Stillwater
Third Grade Art
First Place
Dustin Hitchcock, Stillwater
Second Place
Trevor Boone, Stillwater
Third Grade Writing
First Place
Emma Kuehl, Stillwater
Freedom of Petition
The freedom of petition means you can tell the government what you think is right or wrong. This is important because people should be able to say what they feel about the laws and government without being afraid of going to jail. Our freedom to petition is also important because our leaders know that the American people are free to tell them what we think of the job they are doing. This means our leaders won't do anything too crazy because they know we can tell them they are crazy. Freedom of petition is important in keeping our laws balanced with what the people want and what the government wants. Read the full essay.
Second Place
Daisy Reid, Skiatook
Honorable Mentions
Izzy Rabineau, Oklahoma City; Kayden Summers, Pauls Valley
Fourth Grade Art
First Place
Paetyn Gilliam, Stillwater
Second Place
Avery Perkins, Yukon
Honorable Mention
Kennedy Epplin, Yukon
Fourth Grade Writing
First Place
Paetyn Gilliam, Stillwater
The Danger of a Silent World
Imagine our world if freedom of speech did not exist. Scientific discoveries may not be allowed to be published, knowledge may be withheld, minority groups' voices may not be heard, and the government could suppress the people.
In the 1600s Galileo discovered that the earth moved around the sun. The Catholic church believed that the sun moved around the earth and tried to keep Galileo silent. If they had succeeded our science would be skewed and scientific discoveries would have been slowed. It is important for us to have good knowledge even if it disagrees with tradition, religion, or previous scientific thoughts. Read the full essay.
Second Place
Olivia Evans, Yukon
Honorable Mention
Coryor Beasley, Miami
Fifth Grade Art
First Place
Braden Hibler, Shawnee
Second Place
Melany Ramirez, Enid
Fifth Grade Writing
First Place
Ian Fiddler, Miami
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments added to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was known to be the added freedom and so everyone always followed these rules of freedom, justice, and independence. I believe that we will always be united with our freedom, injustice, and liberty, and if nothing goes right we can always try our hardest to make it better than ever. I believe that the Bill of Rights was made for independence, justice for all, and liberty so nobody would be slaves and the government had no power over us. Read the full essay.
Second Place
Matthew Storey, Miami
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. James Madison wrote the amendments. Many delegates of the states were against signing the Constitution without a Bill of Rights included. It became a major issue in ratifying the Constitution in some states. As a result, James Madison wrote 12 amendments and presented them to the First Congress in 1789. On December 15, 1791 ten of the amendments were passed and made part of the Constitution. They would later become known as the Bill of Rights.
Honorable Mentions
Cambree Dixon, Miami; Kaylan Lewis, Miami
Sixth Grade Art
First Place
Lani Kauahquo, Hobart
Second Place
Aly Judkins, Hobart
Honorable Mention
Collin Billings, Stillwater
Sixth Grade Writing
First Place
Julia Chen, Oklahoma City
The First Amendment: Freedom Worth Preserving
It was late September in 1789. Representatives from each of the thirteen colonies were discussing an important strand of America's foundation: The Bill of Rights. Since America had earned her liberty from England, there were many new rights to protect. Her citizens deserved the freedoms of religion, speech and press, and the right to petition for change. Thus, the First Amendment was created. Read the entire essay.
Second Place
George Leydorf, Oklahoma City
England’s Influence
We saw these things that were wrong, so we fought for freedom, and when we gained freedom we made laws to stop the injustice ... Already you can see how England has affected our laws. If we hadn't seen the injustice then we could still be part of England, or we could have forgotten to make laws about these things and be the same as England. We saw and experienced the injustice of England and we broke away to make a fair country that injustice has helped shape who we are. Read the entire essay.
Seventh Grade Art
First Place
Hannah Joslin, Hobart
Second Place
McKenzie Findley, Stillwater
Seventh Grade Writing
First Place
Syreena Tallant, Blanchard
Iraq’s Bill of Rights
In Iraq the Bill of Rights significantly states in Article 13, which guarantees the keystone freedom of religion: Each Iraqi has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religious belief and practice … The Bill of Rights also protects freedom of expression, association, assembly, movement, privacy, women's rights, and rights to own property, fair trial and basic due process, including freedom from torture. Read the entire essay.
Second Place
Davis Lynn, Oklahoma City
Bill of Rights – Comparing U.S. and Japan
The individual rights listed in Japan's constitution go further than the U.S. Bill of Rights, including many of the Amendments that were made to the U.S. Constitution after the original Bill of Rights had been ratified. Some of these include universal suffrage in Article 15 and the prohibition of slavery in Article 8. Other rights listed in the Japanese constitution are not in the U.S. Bill of Rights at all. These include the right to live where you want and work at whatever occupation you want, the right to academic freedom … and free public education. Read the entire essay.
Honorable Mention
Shaley Burris, Lawton
Eighth Grade Art
First Place
Davis Raschen, Tulsa
Second Place
Rowen Pace, Moore
Eighth Grade Writing
First Place
Jackson Clark, Oklahoma City
1st Amendment Rights
The fourth piece is the right to assemble peacefully. A crucial emphasis to make is that it is peaceful, so violent forms of rioting don't count. This is a very underrated part, but it allows people to commune, discuss ideas, and publicly air opinions; the right to free speech is nothing without one being able to share their ideas with others. It also allows that, when a corrupt company or the Government does something controversial, we can all come out and protest without being arrested. Read the entire essay.
First Place
Rayan Sawan, Edmond
Importance of the First Amendment
After the Revolutionary War ended, America's first Constitution was established. The Articles of Confederation ensured strong state power to avoid tyrannical rule in the American colonies, but it did not last. The American colonies needed a stronger government that was run by "the people". This led to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, which became ratified with the addition of the Bill of Rights. The most important of these amendments is the first amendment. The five rights included in the first amendment are included, to protect "the people's" unalienable rights. Read the entire essay.
Ninth Grade Art
First Place
Thomas Buchanan, Harrah
Second Place
Janessa Chastain, Stilwell
Honorable Mention
Faith Roy, Tulsa
Ninth Grade Writing
First Place
Cole Steeley, Tulsa
The First Amendment – Louder Than the Hateful
If a change were made to the First Amendment that prohibited such extreme speech and protests, this would prohibit all extreme speech and protests. The Westboro Baptist Church and Neo-Nazis would be stopped, but so would any other form of speech. Eventually, the prohibition of this would come back to cripple the people who originally pushed for the change. The Supreme Court doesn't want to support hate groups, but rather they want to support the basic freedoms of all citizens. Read the entire essay.
First Place
Noah Hollifield, Lawton
It's a Free Country
My mom has always told me "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I've recently learned that although this rule is polite, it contradicts the rights granted to me under the first amendment, which are arguably more important than having good manners. Moms don't benefit from teaching their kids about the right to free speech. I've been grounded enough to know I haven't earned that right just yet. The Founding Fathers, however, foresaw the need for certain protections. Read the entire essay.
Tenth Grade Art
First Place
Aubrey Topping, Marlow
Second Place
Cameron Bryan, Oklahoma City
Tenth Grade Writing
First Place
Palmer Strubhar, Piedmont
How Jails Are Overlooking Prisoners' First Amendment Rights
You may still be wondering how refusing someone an animal-friendly meal is a violation of the first amendment. Jailhouse.org states that most judges can agree that, "your beliefs don't have to be associated with a traditional or even an established religion to be ‘religious.'" The reasoning behind this is saying that while your vegetarianism/veganism may not be typical of your religion- whether that be the 227.9 million Christians, 2.23 million Hindus or 3.45 million Muslims in the US - they are beliefs nonetheless. Read the entire essay.
Second Place
Lexis Nolen, Kiefer
We Will Not Be Silenced
We will not we silenced
You will not take our voice
As Americans,
It is our only weapon
That does not kill
We will not be silence*
You will not steal our voices
Our very first law of laws
States just that
We will not be silenc**
Read the entire poem.
Eleventh Grade Art
First Place
Jesse Anderson, Owasso
Second Place
Katie Williams, Pocola
Honorable Mention
Lindsay Bolino, Norman
Eleventh Grade Writing
First Place
Katie McQuay, Skiatook
The First Amendment: Who It Protects and Why It’s Reinterpretation Is Problematic
For instance, does freedom of religion protect individuals, religious groups, or nonreligious people, and why is it important that people can freely worship? For that matter, does this part of the Constitution prohibit the government from ever interacting with religion? The freedoms of religion, press, assembly, petition, and speech established by the First Amendment protect different people, and although these freedoms are vital to the American law system, their reinterpretation throughout the years has resulted in some interesting constitutional dilemmas. Read the entire essay.
First Place
Zoey Russell, Pawnee
The Importance of Protest
All of our civil liberties have been put to good use over the decades since the Constitution was first created. These freedoms have been challenged and people have died to protect these rights. The freedoms we are given should not be taken for granted. The civil rights movement, starting with Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white male, began on December 1, 1955. It would later be known as the most peaceful protest to happen in America. Read the entire essay.
Honorable Mention
Andrew Jacob, Oklahoma City
Twelfth Grade Art
First Place
Carmela Dela Isla, Broken Arrow
Second Place
Grant Mayberry, Tulsa
Tinker v. Des Moines
Lyrics
Brother-sister from Iowa
Fed up with wars of America
Wearing black bands on their arm
To protest the war in Vietnam
That day the school ruled that they'll allow it
But only from their now solemn home.
Why can't they benignly and silently,
Speak against a war without hope?
Honorable Mention
Amber Welch, Broken Arrow
Twelfth Grade Writing
First Place
Cassidy Beck, Pawnee
A Game-Changer during the Civil Rights Movement
The right to assemble is often overlooked, but was an influential part of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The civil rights movement was over a two-decade period where African Americans spoke out against their unequal treatment in the the economic, political, and social spectrum. The right to peaceably assemble was the foundational tool used by African Americans during their fight for equality. This right raised public awareness, empowered influential leaders of the time, and led to the creation of landmark Supreme Court cases. Read the entire essay.
Second Place
Gilbert Johnston, Kiefer
Fight for Freedom of speech
Can we say
What we really want to say?
I think about this all of the time,
Every single day
Is our protesting all
Of what it's even worth
Should we venture with these words
Or should we just disperse
The ones with the power
Are just so one sided
Read the entire poem.
Honorable Mentions
Ashley Winfield, Kiefer; Jia Watson-Fisher, Tulsa