Our Rule of Law Competition winners shocked us with their beautiful words of wisdom as each approached the writing and reviewing process with immense delicacy and creativity. Check out their exquisite commentary below to learn more about their process for law writing, plus gain some beautiful insights from teen writers!
Rule of Law: Your Opinion
WINNER: “Educate Her: Stop Child Marriage in Pakistan Through Rule of Law,” by Alina Khan (United States), age 17
policies in Pakistan, so I used Google Scholar to find sources relevant to the subject. Additionally, I conducted light readings of the Pakistani Constitution to show the gap between official laws and enforcement. My perspective on education barriers and the marriage of underage girls in Pakistan did take a shift after my research. Although I am glad the nation's federal government is taking huge steps to prevent social injustice (especially with the passing of a recent law against child marriage this year), the issue at hand remains extremely prominent, especially in rural communities. My research led me to realize that the problem isn't just with poverty or social norms, but also the weak enforcement of existing laws and disurgency of individuals in courts. The major problem is the undermining of the Rule of Law.
BEST PEER REVIEW: “It’s Not Laryngitis, Dear (Your Voice is Being Censored!),” reviewed by Mia Remience (United States), age 14
Read the winning op-ed peer review here!
In a review, I try to identify two areas in which the writer is already strong, and two ways in which the writer can grow. When sensitive subjects are concerned, I am careful to phrase the feedback in a way that critiques the writing, not the topic.
Rule of Law: Your Story
WINNER: "Between Cruelty and Courage,” by Najaf Zahra (Pakistan), age 19
Read the winning personal narrative here!
Readers may react differently to an argument contextualized within a personal story rather than a straight op-ed or policy. How did you balance personal voice and broader civic claims so readers could both relate and be persuaded?
I tried to share my personal experience honestly while shedding spotlight on the larger societal and ethical issues connected to it, so readers could relate emotionally while also understanding the broader civic significance.
What led you to choose this particular incident, observation, or event to write your essay around?
I chose this particular incident because it stayed with me vividly as a feeling. It shows how a small step of courage can help erase cruelty, especially when the world has turned far scarier. With this story, I hope to inspire others.
RUNNER-UP: “Only the Truth Deserves to Be Read,” by Amuneke Nnanyere Chibuikem (Nigeria), age 17
Read the runner-up personal essay here!
Judges and readers often remember striking lines or images. Which line or moment in your submission are you most proud of, and can you describe how it formed in revision?
'Only the truth deserves to be read' takes the crown here. Funnily enough, it wasn't in my first draft. It was during my final revision, when I usually focused solely on reading rather than making changes, that I glanced through and saw an opportunity to properly express my conviction. And when I put it in I began working my narration around it, till it eventually became its title.
Looking back on this piece, is there an angle or voice you wish you’d had space to explore further? If so, what and why?
I would have loved to explore, more deeply, the clash between my responsibility and the fear of the consequences that would befall me. I could write an entire other essay about the internal conflict I faced at that moment.
BEST PEER REVIEW: “I wish i had cookies,” reviewed by Mohammad Rehaan (India), age 16
Read the winning personal essay peer review here!
Rule of Law: Your Story
WINNER: “Forty-Two Folds,” by Anna Elyssa Cerezo (Philippines), age 17
Read the winning creative writing piece here!
You were invited to write in any creative genre (short story, poetry, etc.). Why did you choose the genre you used, and what did that form let you do that another form would not?
I chose to use fragmented, non-linear flash fiction to tackle the heavy subject of erasure with immediate, raw impact. I think that a longer narrative would have diffused its power, and trying to encapsulate it into a poem would've made my message unclear. The chosen structure allowed me to "fold time" much like the creases in the paper itself, instantly shifting between the boy's hopeful present in the classroom and his mother's tragic future at his wake. 
This technique was vital to me because it imbued the entire narrative with a sense of simultaneous knowledge, heavily inspired by the concepts explored in Ted Chiang’s “The Story of Your Life”; knowing the devastating outcome from the beginning makes every innocent moment of the boy's life resonate with inescapable dread, transforming the sadness we normally feel into a constant, haunting anticipation and making us ask the questions ‘why’ and ‘how’.
This concise form also ensured the central metaphor (the folded paper) had to carry maximum thematic weight. Flash fiction demands that every image be highly dense, enabling the paper to layer complex ideas about ambition, law, and memory without requiring extensive exposition. The limited space aimed to mirror the confinement of the boy's world, highlighting how his dreams of the vast moon were compressed onto a small object, ultimately crushed by the swift and unforgiving "law" that violently and prematurely concluded his story.
Creative work often relies on specific, concrete detail to make ethical questions vivid. Which detail in your piece came from a real observation, and how did you shape it for effect?
When the war on drugs started in our country, I was only around eight years old and barely had an idea about its premise. As I grew older and got exposed to journalism, I remember reading countless articles about this pressing issue and contemplating the necessity of this policy. One story about a 17-year-old boy named Kian delos Santos coming home from school getting shot and framed by the police particularly struck me, and I remember thinking that it could've been anyone. It could be my friend, myself, my sibling.
Now at the same age as him, there's this nagging sense of responsibility for me to expose this kind of injustice.
The central idea came from the paper folding to reach the moon. I found out about this scientific thought experiment of exponential growth, and it reminded me of the cases of extrajudicial killings in our country that were rapidly rising.
While this thought experiment is mathematically sound, as easy as dreaming like we humans do, it is impossible in reality. For the boy (represented as you), the moon represents escape, success, and his ultimate achievement (becoming an astronaut).
However, just like how the 42 folds is physically impossible, the boy's dream is out of reach due to the gravity of his circumstances. And just like how a paper eventually refuses to bend, the boy's potential can no longer overcome the oppressive forces of reality. Much like how socioeconomic status unfairly determines a life's worth.
RUNNER-UP: “The Trial of God,” by Safeerah Rahman (Bangladesh), age 16
Read the runner-up creative writing piece here!
What practical advice would you give other young creatives trying to write about weighty civic themes?
I would say the trick to comprehending and weaving complex and weighty civic themes into one’s writing is to educate oneself about the nuances of the world we often overlook and to frequently engage in critical thinking.
It is very tempting to continue going about one’s life, oblivious to the injustices that occur around us every day. As Thomas Gray once wrote, “Ignorance is bliss.” But to a child chained to a cave since its birth, the world is as small as the silhouettes dancing on the stone walls. It will never know the sun that rises and sets, nor the warm westerly breeze that blows in winter.
To write is to know; a work of art is the knowledge of a thousand generations accumulated into the fine tip of a ballpoint pen.
Whether you enjoy penning heartfelt romances or high-paced thrillers, a good understanding of civics will aid you all the way.
Did a writer, book, or creative work inspire this piece? Or perhaps a personal story? How did the inspiration influence your approach?
I would like to begin by mentioning Franz Kafka’s Before the Law, which served me with the idea of pitching figurative forces of Law against a self-proclaimed ‘just’ humanity.
But the main idea—the ‘meat’ of my story—of painting humanity as arrogant arose from Albert Camus’ infamous story, The Stranger, which taught me that judgement is often more complex than what meets the eye, and proposed the query—“If the law perceived by humanity is not absolute, what is just, and what is lawful?”. If humanity perceives the God of Law’s brooding silence as blasphemy, what more can She say in response?
That, combined with Friedrich Nietzsche’s infamous quote, “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him,” inspired me to portray a God who has no more to give to a hypocritical humanity, and a world that grumbles with hatred towards its own creator.
And lastly, what served as the final push for me to finish this piece was the complex characterisation of one of Honkai: Star Rail’s lesser-loved characters, Cerydra. Though a prideful and cruel tyrant who had fallen from a blade through her back, when asked, “How do you want history to remember you? As a hero who gave up her life … or as a tyrant?”, she responded, “I would rather be forgotten than be defined. Because the ‘Law’ can be neither eternal nor unchallenged… And only ‘humanity’ can pen laws into history’s pages.” And from it, I learned that the law lies within humanity’s perception, and only they can define what is lawful and what is not.
BEST PEER REVIEW: “How to give a doll a makeover.,” reviewed by Ava Vetter (United States), age 14
Read the best creative writing peer review here!
Thank you to the Supreme Court Historical Society for sponsoring this competition. The Supreme Court Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to preserving and collecting the history of the United States Supreme Court, increasing public awareness of the Court's contribution to the constitutional heritage of the United States, and acquiring knowledge covering the history of the entire Judicial Branch. Learn more at supremecourthistory.org and explore resources at civics.supremecourthistory.org.
