CUNY and SUNY winners will be awarded $1000 each with one winner awarded the New York State (NYS) Community College Grand Prize of $1,500. The winners will also be honored at the Law Day ceremony at the Court of Appeals Hall an event at which the Chief Judge of the State of New York presides and the Governor, the Attorney General, and the Bench and Bar of New York attend.
DEADLINE: April 5, 2013.
ESSAY TOPIC: ‘Cyberspace and the Law: What are Our Rights and Responsibilities?’
Students can choose one of the following questions to develop their essays:
Essay Question 1 – Cyberbullying: Examine the newly-enacted New York law governing cyberbullying and analyze current research on cyberbullying prevention. How do we balance the First Amendment free speech rights of students with the need to prevent the harm (including death) to students who are the targets of cyberbullies?
Essay Question 2 – Digital Piracy: One of the benefits of cyberspace is the ease with which we can maintain contact with our friends and share important aspects of our lives. However, sometimes the things we would like to share are copyrighted artistic works and file-sharing would run afoul of copyright laws. How can we ensure that the rights of both the copyright owners and those of lawful download owners are fair and balanced?
Essay Question 3 – Privacy in Peril: Privacy is the power to control how much other people know about us. Few of us realize the extent to which our Internet activities are tracked or know that our digital footprints remain traceable, often for long periods of time. How can we balance our digital lives and our personal privacy?
Essay Question 4 – Government Surveillance: The right to be free of unwarranted search and seizure is enshrined in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. But new technologies such as manufacturer installed GPS systems in cars, cell phone tracking and the introduction of surveillance drones in the United States have made widespread law enforcement and governmental surveillance of the American population possible. Is this technology eroding our Fourth Amendment rights and forcing us to change our expectations about privacy in public spaces?
RULES AND RESOURCES:
– Visit www.nycourts.gov/history
– “Like” us on Facebook at The Historical Society of the New York Courts
– Follow us on twitter: @NYLegal_History
