Two Howard County Students Earn High Honors in 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Essay Contest

July 2nd, 2019

A flag is flying in front of a court building.

Every year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit poses a question for high school students in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Students have 1,000 words to explain their answer in an essay. The prompt for the 2019 Essay Contest was “How has the right to freedom of speech established for public school students in the Supreme Court case of Tinker v. Des Moines evolved in the 50 years since it was decided?”

Each submission is judged by a panel that consists of lawyers, college and law school professors, and teachers. Approximately 1,000 submissions are received annually, from which the panel selects three winners.

This year Howard County students took both second and third place. Lorelei Loraine, a rising senior at Mt. Hebron High School, earned second place for her essay. Eli Kuperman, a rising senior at Long Reach High School, took third place for his essay.

Lorelei and Eli will read their prize winning essays and receive their awards at a special program held on September 19, 2019 at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia.