Student Activities > Writing Competitions > Writing Competition Archive > 2008 Sovereignty Symposium XXI Chief Justice John B. Doolin Writing Competition
2008 Sovereignty Symposium XXI Chief Justice John B. Doolin Writing Competition
EXPIRED: March 30, 2008.
John B. Doolin was appointed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 1972, and he served
as Chief Justice from 1987-1988. He loved to read and write, collect Indian art,
and buy Navajo rugs. He recognized the need for a forum to address Native
American issues as a result of his service on the Indian Affairs Committee at the
National Chief Justices' Conference. He authorized the formation of the Sovereignty
Symposium in 1988.
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission, the Sovereignty
Symposium, Inc., and the Oklahoma Arts Council are sponsoring a law student writing
competition, open to all students enrolled in an accredited law school in the United
States, its territories or Canada.
In conjunction with Sovereignty Symposium XXI, which will be held June 4 and June 5, 2008
at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a scholarly collection of legal
and historical writings will be presented to all participants. Legal libraries all over the
United States regularly solicit copies of the publications for their collections. The subject
matter of the paper may be on any area of the law relating to Native Americans or other
indigenous peoples. First, second, and third prizes in the amounts of $500.00; $300.00; and
$200.00 will be awarded. The winning entry will also be published in the 2008 Symposium
compendium of materials. Second and third place entries will be published if space
permits. Entries must be received no later than March 30, 2008. Publication
releases will be required prior to payment of prize money.
The entries in the writing competition must be not less than thirty (30) single-spaced
pages nor more than fifty (50) single-spaced pages in length. The paper used shall be 8-1/2"
x 11" in size and white in color. The title of the paper, the name of the author and a
current mailing address and telephone number must be placed on a cover page.
Only the title of the paper should appear at the top of the first page of
the text. The author's name should appear on the cover page only. Papers must
be submitted on an IBM formatted floppy disk in Word or WordPerfect format,
or you may e-mail the formatted version to
kyle.shiffler@oscn.net. Use a 12-point font in Times New Roman format.
Again, the document should be single spaced. The left and right margins
must be 2"; the top and bottom margins must be 1.5".
Papers will be evaluated using the following criteria: Timeliness of Subject; Originality;
Legal Analysis; Use of Authority (both Extent and Authority and the Correct Citation
in Text); Creativity of Arguments; Strength and Logic of Conclusions; Grammar;
Punctuation and Writing Style. Each of the criteria listed above will be evaluated
on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest mark. The use of proper Bluebook
form for endnotes, as well as Endnote Grammar, Analysis and Exploration will also be
considered as part of the rating process. Text and endnote criteria listed above will be
evaluated on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest mark.
The Symposium was established to provide a forum in which ideas concerning common legal
issues may be exchanged in a scholarly, non-adversarial environment. The Oklahoma Supreme
Court espouses no view on any of the issues or any of the positions taken by the
participants. All entries must conform to the Symposium standards. Entries
that fail to do so in the opinion of the competition judges will be disqualified.
Papers must be submitted to:
Justice Yvonne Kauger
Sovereignty Symposium
Oklahoma State Capitol, Room 208
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
OR
E-mail kyle.shiffler@oscn.net.