Write an essay on the topic:
LAW DAY 2013
Realizing the Dream: Equality for All
AND YOU COULD WIN UP TO $250
THIS YEAR’S ESSAY QUESTION:
The promise of equality under the law is what has made America a beacon to other nations. It is a pledge clearly set forth in the Declaration of Independence and in the opening words of the Preamble of the Constitution, “We the People.” It is, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, the proposition to which our nation is dedicated.
The year 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1963, during the Proclamation’s centennial, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and called upon our nation to live up to the great promise, enshrined in its founding documents, of equality for all.
In more recent years, the nationwide debate on immigration law and policy has provided us another opportunity to explore the movement for civil and human rights in America and the impact it has had on promoting the ideal of equality under the law. Arizona passed one of the broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measures. S.B. 1070 made it illegal for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying registration documents. It also required that state law enforcement officers attempt to determine an individual’s immigration status during a “lawful stop, detention or arrest,” or during a “lawful contact” not specific to any activity when there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is an illegal immigrant. The law has proven especially controversial.
Considering the forgoing, please compose an essay examining the following: Are immigrants entitled to equal protection and due process under the laws? Should they be afforded the same Constitutional rights and privileges as ordinary citizens? Does your answer change for those who are in the country legally versus those who are in the country illegally? Why or why not?
Each essay will be judged based upon format, clarity, style, reasoning, creativity and overall effort.
ENTRY DEADLINE: 3:30 P.M. FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2013, AT THE TOLEDO BAR ASSOCIATION. NO STAPLES PLEASE.
Rules and information ~ Cover sheet