To commemorate the 50th edition of The Annual Review of Criminal Procedure, The Georgetown Law Journal is thrilled to announce its inaugural Student Notes Contest. 

GLJ Student Notes Contest

In light of recent events that have drawn increased national attention on police brutalityparticularly against victims of colorthe theme for this Notes Contest is criminal justice reform. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: policing reform; defunding the police; prison abolition; vagrancy laws; sentencing laws; and bail reform.

This theme also honors the Journal’s commitment to diversity and combating racial inequity, and we hope that it will be a starting point in the difficult conversations that lay ahead in the legal community.

Submissions are due October 18, 2020, 5pm EST.

More information and contest requirements can be found below. 

Submission Guidelines

  1. Who is eligible to submit:
    • Entrants must be currently enrolled in a J.D., LL.M, or S.J.D. program at an ABA-accredited law school located in the United States. Eligibility is not limited to students enrolled at the Georgetown University Law Center. Eligibility is not limited to students enrolled in a full-time program. 
    • A submission from a member of The Georgetown Law Journal will fulfill the Journal’s Note requirement if it meets the standards outlined in The Georgetown Law Journal Notes Manual.
  2. Format of Submission:
    • Submission should be limited to 10,000 words, inclusive of footnotes. Pieces beyond the word limit will not be considered. Submissions should be double-spaced; in Times New Roman 12-point font; submitted in .doc or .docx format. 
    • Submissions should be accompanied by a separate document, which should provide a brief summary of the Note and statement of originality. This document should follow the same formatting as the Note submission outlined above and will not be included in the 10,000 word count limit.
    • The Note should be entitled “[TITLE]-GLJ Note.” The summary of the Note and statement of originality should be entitled “[TITLE]-GLJ Statement.” All personally identifying information should be removed on both documents.
    • Submissions will be collected here (or through the submission button on the right side of the webpage).

Contest Details

  1. Evaluation:
    • Submissions will be evaluated in accordance with the Journal’s formal selection process. The process will be managed by the Editor-in-Chief, Editor-in-Chief of The Annual Review of Civil Procedure, Senior Online Editor, and Senior Articles Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal. The submissions will be considered anonymously. The selection committee will evaluate the submissions based on novelty, its contribution to the existing scholarship in the field of criminal justice reform, clarity and writing style, and citational support.
    • The Senior Board and volunteer editors shall designate a set of finalists to be considered for the winning submission(s).
  2. Announcement and Award:
    • The Announcement of the winning Note(s) shall be made by the Editor-in-Chief of The Georgetown Law Journal in November 2020. Entrants who submit a winning Note agree to publish in GLJ Online and to participate in the 1–2 month editing process leading up to publication.
    • The Award shall consist of the following elements:
      • Publication on The Georgetown Law Journal’s online platform in Spring 2021.
      • The Journal reserves the right to publish the winning Notes on its social media outlets.
      • A monetary prize of $250 will be awarded to each of the winners.

Please direct questions regarding the Student Notes Contest to Grace Lee, Senior Online Editor, at geoljonline@gmail.com.