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Bill of Rights Civics Contest

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio is hosting its District-wide Civics Art Contest! Students in grades 9-12 from the Northern District of Ohio are encouraged to submit an original Poster and accompanying description (250-word maximum) examining the significance of the Bill of Rights and its role in the judiciary.  Cash prizes are available to the top two applicants in each region (Akron, Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown).

Prompt & Guidelines

235 Years of Rights, Liberty, and Justice — The Bill of Rights and the Judiciary’s Role in Protecting Freedom

In 2026, our nation recognizes 235 years since the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments established fundamental protections for individual liberties, including freedom of speech, religion, the press, assembly, and petition, as well as protections for due process, privacy, and other individual rights.

For more than two centuries, the Bill of Rights has remained a cornerstone of American democracy. Through landmark cases and constitutional interpretation, the judiciary has played a vital role in defining the meaning and scope of these rights and determining how they apply as society and technology have changed over the years.

Your Challenge

Create an original Poster and provide a written description of your Poster that explores the significance of the Bill of Rights and the judiciary’s role in interpreting and protecting the rights it guarantees. Consider how the courts have shaped the meaning of individual rights throughout American history. Your Poster may explore a particular amendment, a landmark court decision, or the broader relationship between the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the judiciary.

The written description should explain the civic message behind the artwork and show how the Poster is intended to educate or inspire the public. While the image should capture attention, the description should clarify how the symbols, colors, words, and design choices communicate the importance of the Bill of Rights and the judiciary’s role in protecting constitutional rights.

Who May Enter

The contest is open to high school students (grades 9-12) enrolled in public, private, parochial, and charter schools, and home-schooled students of equivalent grade level in the Northern District of Ohio. Children of federal judges, chambers staff, and employees of federal court offices are not eligible to participate.

DEADLINE: DECEMBER 10, 2026

Two winners will be selected from each region (Akron, Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown).

First place: $200 award

Second place: $100 award

By submitting a Poster, participants agree to allow the Court to display the Poster (images, text, and graphics) in courthouses, at civic-related events, on its website, and other similar settings.

Poster, Description Length, Format, Judging, and Submission

Your poster and written description of the same must be your own original work, created entirely by you and not generated or written with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Posters and their written descriptions may be reviewed using AI-detection tools or other verification methods to ensure authenticity. All sources relied upon to draft your written description must be properly cited using a standard citation format (e.g., MLA, APA, or Chicago). Any posters and written descriptions found to include AI-generated content or lacking appropriate citations will be disqualified.

Poster

The Poster should be submitted electronically as a PDF, maximum 10 MB. Name your file: Firstname Lastname_Poster (example: Jane Smith_Poster.pdf).

Content Guidelines

  • Messaging: Must promote civic engagement, responsibility, or awareness. Must be consistent with the desired theme.
  • Respectful Tone: No offensive, discriminatory, or harmful content.
  • Accuracy: Information presented must be factually correct.
  • Informative: Must include a one-paragraph description of how it connects with the theme.

Description

Description of the Poster should be submitted as a Word document and should be no more than 250 words (citations need not to be included in word count). Please follow these formatting guidelines for the description:

  • Use 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double-spaced text, with one-inch margins.
  • Include a title page with your first and last name, school (if applicable), grade level, county, street address, email, and phone number.
  • Name your file: Firstname Lastname_Description (example: John Smith_Description.docx).

Posters and descriptions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Message Clarity (25%) – Is the civic message clear and impactful?
  • Creativity (25%) – Is the public service campaign original and engaging?
  • Relevance (25%) – Does it connect to civic themes and responsibilities?
  • Technical Quality (25%) – Is the production polished and easy to understand?

Submit posters and descriptions as a PDF and Word file to the appropriate email address based on the contestant’s county of residence, along with the Civics Art Contest Entry Form and Release, by 11:59 PM ET on Thursday, December 10, 2026.

 

Questions may be sent to the respective submission inbox listed above.