The Society sponsors the CSCHS Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition in California Legal History to promote research and writing on the California Supreme Court and the state’s legal history. The articles are judged by a panel of American legal historians and lawyers.
The winning entries from past competitions are listed below (as PDFs):
The 2025 Student Writing Competition
The California Supreme Court Historical Society is pleased to announce the
2025 Selma Moidel Smith Student Writing Competition in California Legal History.
The 2024 Student Writing Competition
The California Supreme Court Historical Society is pleased to announce the Winners of the 2024 Student Writing Competition in California Legal History.
1st: “Guess Who’s Coming to Stanford? The Battle for Desegregation of an Elite Law School.” Gabrielle Braxton
2nd: “The Codification of Independent Living.” Douglas Sangster
3rd: “Justice Denied and Forgotten: The Hidden History of Alaska’s World War II Internment Camps.” Caroline Lester
The 2024 Student Writing Competition Announcement
The 2023 Student Writing Competition
The 2023 Student Writing Competition Announcement
The California Supreme Court Historical Society is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 CSCHS Selma Moidel Smith Student Writing Competition in California Legal History.
Honorable Mention: “White v. Kwock Sue Lum: Chinese Adoption and U.S. Immigration Law in the Exclusion Era.” Michael Callahan, Josh Fuhrman, Alex Heffner, Grace Hwang, Henry McGannon, Abby Morris, Emma Peddrick, Maddux Reece, Christopher Sosnik and Jackson Warmack
This Daily Journal story covered the meeting announcing the writing contest winners.
The 2022 Student Writing Competition
2022 Student Writing Competition Announcement
The California Supreme Court Historical Society is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 CSCHS Selma Moidel Smith Student Writing Competition in California Legal History.
1st: “More than Moratoriums: The Obstacles to Abolishing California’s Death Penalty.” Leah Haberman
The 2021 Student Writing Competition
2021-Announcement of Winning Entries
2nd: “Getting to Tarasoff: A Gender-Based History of Tort Law Doctrine.” Brook Tylka
The 2020 Student Writing Competition
2020-Announcement of Winning Entries
1st: “Ronald Reagan v. CRLA: Politics, Power, and Poverty Law” Taylor Cozzens
2nd: “Breaking California’s Cycle of Juvenile Transfer” Gus Tupper
The 2019 Student Writing Competition
2019-Announcement of Winning Entries
2018-Announcement of Winning Entry
2017-Announcement of Winning Entry
“California’s No-Duty Law and Its Negative Implications” Michaela Goldstein
2016 – Announcement of Winning Entries
2nd: “Equal Protection and California Public School Finance” John James Daller
2015 – Announcement of Winning Entries
1st: “Laura’s Law: Concerns, Effectiveness, and Implementation” Jorgio Castro
2nd: “Inverse Condemnation: California’a Widening Loophole” David Ligtenberg
2014 – Announcement of Winning Entries
1st: “The (F)law of Karma: In Light of Sedlock v. Baird” Bradford Masters
2nd: “California’s Anti-Revenge Porn Legislation” Lauren Williams
3rd: “Virtual Cloning” Shannon Flynn Smith
2013 – Announcement of Winning Entries
1st: “The Vine Vote: Why California Went Dry” Jonathan Mayer
2nd: “The Chinese Must Go” Greg Seto
3rd: “Is that a Laptop in your Pocket” Jacob True
2012 – Announcement of Winning Entries
1st: “All the Other Daisys” Catherine Davidson
2nd: “What’s Sunday All About?” Jeremy Zeitlin
3rd: “California Agricultural Labor Relations Act” David Willhoite
2011 – Announcement of Winning Entries
1st: “Devilishly Uncomfortable: CA Supreme Court …” Mike Beitiks
2nd: “The Taco Truck Rush” Jaime Massar
3rd: “Fed Gov’t Exceeds its Power to Regulate … ” Pantea Rahbar
2010 – Announcement of Winning Entries
1st: “The Case of the Black-Gloved Rapist” Sara Mayeux
2nd: “Jerry’s Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty” Joseph Makhluf
3rd: “The Last of the Beaches” Justin Dickerson
2007 – Announcement of Winning Entries
1st: “Chief Justice Roger J. Traynor’s Tax Philosophy” Mirit Eyal-Cohen