Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society

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2025-26 Essay Contest Information

The Mondale-Quie Essay Contest is open to Minnesota high school students in grades 11 and 12 who attend a public or private school (including charter and alternative-learning programs) or who are homeschooled in Minnesota.

Contest Requirements:

1) All participants must register online in advance to be eligible for the essay contest. There is no fee to register or participate.

2) Download the ESSAY PACKET which includes detailed information about the topic and question(s) to answer, rules, submission guidelines, and more. Essays not conforming to contest rules will not be considered.

If you have any questions, please contact us at director@mncourthistory.org.

2025/26 Essay Contest Prompt

Propose and write the complete text of two new amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Why are these amendments important to add to the U.S. Constitution? What do you expect to change?

Timeline

Contest opens October 6, 2025
Submissions due by January 20, 2026
Winners announced by March 31, 2026
Awards luncheon in May 2025 (date to be determined)

Prizes

First Place $1,000
Second Place $750
Third Place $500

2024-25 Contest Winners

Audrey Howell from Benilde-St. Margaret's - The Cost of Freedom : The Line Between Gun Rights and Community Safety

Charlie Schubert from St. Thomas Academy - Age Limits on Public Gun Possession

Sam Okwuoha from Owatonna High School - Should Public Gun Possession Be Restricted to Individuals Aged 21 or Older?

Question: Do you agree that public gun possession should be restricted to those who are at least 21 years old, given the other freedoms granted young people? Why?

2023-24 Contest Winners

Joy Okafo from Fourth Baptist Christian School - Banning Books and Soliciting Silence

Charlie Bagley from St. Thomas Academy - Between the Lines: Exploring Book Censorship in Minnesota

Question: Comparing Minnesota’s local control of school curriculum (decided by school boards) and other nationwide trends, how should the government be involved in deciding what to include in school curriculum and what books should be made available to schools and the public? What role, if any, should the First Amendment to the United States Constitution play in these decisions?

2022-23 Contest Winners

Ella Horejsi from New Prague High School - The Second Amendment Interpretation

Leo Ogle from St. Thomas Academy - All But The Kitchen Sink: A Second Amendment Interpretation for the Safety of Schools

Emmet Wolf from St. Thomas Academy - The Second Amendment Inhibits Change

Question: How can the Second Amendment and Constitution, more generally, be interpreted or amended to protect schools and other communities most affected by gun violence?

2021-22 Contest Winners

William Benson | St. Thomas Academy, Class of 2022 | Common Good Environmentalism

Aleen Jude | Minnetonka High School, Class of 2023 | Environmental Policy and Our Constitutions: Should They Be Kept Separate?

Lucas Wagner | Eden Prairie High School, Class of 2023 | For Ourselves and Our Posterity: A Constitutional Environmental Right

Question: Do you believe the United States or Minnesota constitutions can be fairly read to grant a right to clean air, water, and a healthy natural environment? If not, should the United States or the State of Minnesota constitutions be amended to grant a right to a healthy environment? Explain your reasoning.

2019-2020 Contest Winners

Mackenzie Schmidt | Homeschool, Class of 2020 | Felons Should Have the Right to Vote

Maddy Breton | St. Paul Academy, Class of 2020 | Second-Class Citizens: The Case Against Felon Disenfranchisement

Zachary Dyar | St. Paul Academy, Class of 2020 | The Disenfranchisement of Felons on Probation: A Breach of Fundamental Rights

Question: In light of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, discuss whether the right to vote should be expanded further and, if so, to what groups. Explain your reasoning.

2018-2019 Contest Winners

Gabriel Konar-Steenberg | St. Paul Academy and Summit School | Race is Real: The Equal Protection Implications of Desegregation and Affirmative Action

Lily Nestor | St. Paul Academy and Summit School | Solutions to Segregation: Quotas v. Holistic Review

Gabriela Hernandez | Breck School | Law of Ignorance

Question: Do you think courts have decided issues of desegregation, busing, and affirmative action in public schools and universities correctly? Support your answer with citations to relevant sources.

Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society
PO Box 25 | Chisago City, MN 55013

Contact MSCHS at
director@MnCourtHistory.org

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