Ninth Circuit Civics Contest Deadline Extended

The 2025 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest deadline has been extended to Friday, March 14, 2025.

The contest is an annual essay and video contest open to high school students residing in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington state, the U.S. Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The contest theme is “When Duty Calls: Why Exercising the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship is Important to Me.” Students will have an opportunity to win cash prizes while conducting their research to learn about the rights and responsibilities of being a U.S. citizen. Students can submit an essay of 500-1,000 words or a 3–5-minute video or both. A student does not have to be a U.S. citizen to be eligible to enter the contest.

Essay and video winners at the circuit level will share $11,400 in total cash prizes–$3,000 for first place, $1,700 for second place and $1,000 for third place. In addition, circuit level first-place winners will be invited to attend the 2025 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, where they will be recognized for their accomplishments and also participate in a special panel discussion with members the Ninth Circuit’s Public Information and Community Outreach (PICO) Committee. Contest rules and additional information are available on the civics contest website at https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/civicscontest/.

The contest is sponsored by the PICO Committee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the federal courts that comprise the Ninth Circuit. Finalists will be announced in May and the winners in June. #