Additional Contest Information
About the Essay Contest
Now in its 24th year, the Essay Contest was started by the Foundation’s James W. Cooper Fellows in 2000. The purpose of the essay contest is to get young people in Connecticut thinking about and exploring legal issues relevant to them.
In 2011, the Essay Contest was named after Quintin Johnstone, who was a professor at Yale Law School before his death in 2014. Johnstone served as past president of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, participated in a variety of Fellows projects for many years, and was a longtime member of the Fellows Education and Program Committee, which helps to organize Fellows projects like the annual Essay Contest.
This year's contest generated over 100 entries from across Connecticut. The Foundation thanks the student essayists, and the schools and teachers who supported them, for their participation.
We also wish to thank the Connecticut Supreme Court for their continued support of the Essay Contest, and for welcoming us back to the court on June 4, 2024, for our awards ceremony.
Finally, we want to thank the over 140 attorneys and judges from across the state who reviewed and scored the essays this year. Justices and judges who participated in the final round of judging for the 2023-2024 contest were: Justice Richard Palmer, Justice Raheem Mullins, Judge Alexandra DiPentima, Judge Ingrid Moll, and Judge Maureen Dennis.
Click here to view a complete list of the 2023-2024 Essay Contest Judges
2023-2024 Essay Contest Committee
Justine C. Rakich-Kelly, chair
Hon. Claudia Baio
Jeff Blumenthal
Sheila Charmoy
Matthew Cholewa
Ann-Marie DeGraffenreidt
Susan Freedman
Gary Giaimo
Emily Gianquinto
Gary R. Gold
Hon. Ernest Green, Jr.
Sara Greene
Gail Hardy
Rob Harris
Hon. Maureen Keegan
Noah Kores
Tamara Kagan Levine
Bill Logue
Ernest Mattei
Yamuna Menon
Colleen M. Murphy
Sara Nadim
Hon. Maureen Price-Boreland
Linda Randell
Hon. Angela Robinson
Dan Schwartz
Carolyn Signorelli
Hon. Nada Sizemore (Ret.)
Jack G. Steigelfest
Hon. James Tancredi
Hon. Cecil J. Thomas
Hon. Erika Tindill
Dave Vatti
Gayle Wintjen
