Oratorical Contest Rules 1. The paramount purpose of the Oratorical Contest is to foster, promote and reward the study, understanding and appreciation of the imperative for an independent judiciary. The Contest is intended to inspire high school juniors and seniors to employ critical thinking skills to cast new light on an ancient principle. It is hoped that all Contestants, regardless of placement, will share their improved understanding of the delicate balance of power between the branches of government as they continue their educations and begin their careers as the leaders of the future. 2. Eligibility – Contestants must be under the age of 20 years as of October 31, 2008, be enrolled as a junior or senior in a public high school, accredited private high school or State–approved home school in Georgia and be citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States. First Place winners are ineligible to compete in a subsequent year's Contest. Participants, other than former First Place winners, may enter the Contest again in a subsequent year. No Contestant may compete in more than two annual Contests sponsored by Justice Served. 3. Application – Application forms may be downloaded from or completed online by clicking here. Applications must be received not later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 31, 2008. Completed applications may be hand delivered or mailed to Roberta A. Earnhardt, Justice Served Oratorical Contest Chair, 922 Court Street, Suite 201, P.O. Box 289, Conyers, Georgia 30012. Any Contestant who wishes to withdraw from the Contest should notify the Contest Chair as soon as possible. The Contest Chair may be contacted at the foregoing address, at gcjf@civiljustice.org, or by phone at (404) 210-2019. 4. Contest Structure – The Contest is conducted in a single day at a single venue. The Contest consists of three rounds, the Preliminary Round, the Semifinal Round and the Final Round. For the Preliminary Round, Contestants are divided into Preliminary Contest Groups of approximately equal numbers. In the Preliminary Round, the members of a particular Preliminary Contest Group compete only against the other members of their Group. The winner of each Preliminary Contest Group advances to the Semifinal Round. See Rule 16 regarding scoring procedure. The Preliminary Round winners are divided into Semifinal Contest Groups of approximately equal numbers. In the Semifinal Round, the members of a particular Semifinal Contest Group compete only against the other members of their Group. The winner of each Semifinal Contest Group advances to the Final Round. 5. Sessions – The term “session” refers to a discrete part of the Contest in which a group of Contestants competes before the same panel of Judges officiated over by the same Timekeeper. 6. Scholarships – Justice Served awards Scholarships in the amount of $5,000 for First Place, $3,000 for Second Place, $2,000 for Third Place and $1,000 for Fourth Place. The Scholarships are to be used to pursue education beyond high school at any four–year accredited college or university in the United States. Funds will be disbursed for tuition or any other bona fide educational expense directly to the college or university on behalf of the recipient. 7. The Primary Oration – All contestants will deliver a prepared oration described as follows:         a. Topic – The Primary Oration must be on the importance of the Separation of Powers Doctrine to protect and preserve the independence of the judiciary.         b. Length – The Primary Oration must be a minimum of five minutes and may not exceed eight minutes. Should a Contestant speak less than five minutes or more than eight minutes, he/she shall be assessed a penalty of one point for each minute or fraction of a minute his/her Primary Oration is over or under the allotted time.         c. Successive Rounds – Contestants will deliver the same Primary Oration in each successive round of the Contest, i.e., the Preliminary Round, the Semifinal Round and the Final Round. No Contestant will give his Primary Oration more than three times. 8. The Subtopic Oration – In the Final Round, in addition to delivering their Primary Orations, the Finalists will deliver a Subtopic Oration on one of three Subtopics.         a. Subtopics                 i. Judicial Selection, Retention and Removal – What system of selecting, retaining and removing judges best promotes the independence of the judiciary: a system of judges appointed for a lifetime with nominations being made by the chief executive and confirmed by the legislative branch, as in the federal system (See U.S. Const., Art. II, Sec. II, Clause 2), a system of judges elected for terms of years with vacancies being filled by the chief executive, as in the Georgia system (See Ga. Const. 1981 Art. V, Sec. II, Par. 8(a) and Art. 6, Sec. 7, Par. I) or some other system?                 ii. Campaign Financing – How do (or would) partisanship, so–called “soft money” and public campaign funding effect judicial elections?                 iii. Jurisprudence – What is the relationship between the current concept of “judicial activism” or “legislating from the bench” and the traditional concept of judge–made law known as “common law”?         b. The Subtopic Oration must be a minimum of three minutes and may not exceed five minutes. Should a Contestant speak less than three minutes or more than five minutes, he/she shall be assessed a penalty of one point for each minute or fraction of a minute his/her Subtopic Oration is over or under the allotted time.         c. The topic for the Subtopic Oration will be determined by a drawing on the day of the Contest. The topic will be the same for all Finalists. Each Finalist will be made aware of the topic selection approximately five minutes before he/she is to give his Subtopic Oration. Each Finalist will have approximately five minutes in a private room to collect his/her thoughts before delivering the Subtopic Oration. See Rule 11 regarding review of written materials. 9. Originality – All Orations must be the original work of the Contestant. Quotations of more than 10 words must be attributed to the original author. Should the Contest Chair determine after the Contest that a Contestant awarded a Scholarship committed a substantial act of plagiarism, that Contestant's Scholarship shall be rescinded and adjustments will be made in the placement of and Scholarships awarded to affected Contestants. What constitutes a substantial act of plagiarism will be determined in the sole discretion of the Contest Chair and such determination shall be final. 10. Aids Not Permitted in Oration – Contestants may not use notes, audio/visual aids, electronic devices or props and may not be prompted during any Oration. Orations may not be amplified in any manner. Contestants may not utilize a lectern, speaker's stand or dais. 11. Review of Notes Prior to Orations – Contestants may refer to their own written materials prior to giving an Oration in any round. Contestants may not be in possession of any electronic device at the Contest venue. 12. Timekeeping – The Contest Chair shall appoint an official Timekeeper for each session whose duty it shall be to keep an accurate time record of each Contestant's Oration during that session. The Timekeeper shall sit in full view of the Contestants. The Timekeeper shall be equipped with a stopwatch. The timekeeper shall begin timing each Contestant at the start of his/her Oration. For the Primary Oration, the Timekeeper shall be equipped with warning cards bearing the figures 5, 6, 7 and 8. When five minutes have been used, the time warning card with the figure 5 thereon shall be placed in full view of the speaker, following with 6, 7 and 8 as the Contestant progresses. The same procedure shall be used with cards bearing 3, 4 and 5 during the Subtopic Oration. Immediately after each Oration, the Timekeeper shall announce the duration of the Contestant's Oration, whether any penalty for violation of the time rule is to be imposed and, if so, the number of points to be deducted from the Contestant's score. The Judges shall note on each Contestant's Scorecard whether the Contestant is to be penalized for a time violation and, if so, in what amount. 13. Order of Oration – Contestants will draw numbers for the order in which they will deliver their Orations in any given session. The presiding Official shall announce the title of the Contestant's Prepared Oration immediately after introducing him/her as Contestant No. 1, Contestant No. 2, etc. 14. Rules Interpretation – Questions as to the meaning, application or interpretation of the Contest Rules should be directed to the Contest Chair. Any questions as to the application or interpretation of the Contest Rules that may arise on the day of the Contest shall be resolved by the Contest Chair and such resolutions shall be final. 15. Judges – Justice Served goes to great effort to ensure that all Judges are impartial and knowledgeable about the relevant topics. All Preliminary Round and Semifinal Round sessions will be judged by at least three Judges. The Final Round will be judged by a minimum of five judges. Judges shall seat themselves in different locations in the Contest Room. Judges shall render their final decisions independently of one another and without consulting with other Judges or any other person. Judges of the Court of Appeals of Georgia and/or Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia are expected to be among the Judges of the Final Round. The decision of the Judges as certified by the Contest Chair is final. 16. Scoring – Orations are judged on content and delivery. Click here to see the Official Judge's Score Card. In the Preliminary Round and the Semifinal Round, a Contestant's raw score is determined by the Primary Oration delivered in that round only. The maximum number of points that a Judge may award for a Primary Oration in any round is 100. In the Final Round, a Contestant's raw score is determined by combining his/her raw score on the Primary Oration delivered in the Final Round and his/her raw score on the Subtopic Oration. The maximum number of points that may be awarded for the Subtopic Oration in the Final Round is 50. The total raw score attainable in the Final Round is 150 points. In each session of all rounds, each Judge converts the raw scores of the Contestants who compete in that session to a placement ranking, with the highest raw score being ranked First, the next highest raw score being ranked Second and so on. Official Tabulators tally the rankings of all Judges for a particular session to determine the winner of that session. In the event of a tie between two or more Contestants for a single placement in a particular session, the sum of the raw scores of the tied Contestants as awarded by all of the Judges of that session determines the Contestants' ranking. Should a tie persist after resort to the raw scores, the Judges of the effected session shall deliberate and break the tie. 17. On–Site Registration – Registration will be from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in the designated Registration Room. Contestants must present a current, valid school identification card with photograph or equivalent proof of identity and current eligibility (See Rule 2). Once a Contestant has checked in, he/she may not leave the supervision of Contest Officials without express permission. 18. Self–Identification – Contestants may not identify themselves by name, parents, school or community as part of their Orations. Self–identification will result in a reduction in score based on the degree of identification as determined in the discretion of the Judges. 19. Tabulations – The Contest Chair will appoint Tabulators whose responsibility it will be to review the Judges' Official Score Cards to be certain they are fully tabulated and signed before being submitted for final Tabulation. Judges' Official Score Cards will not be divulged to anyone at the site of the Contest. Judges' Official Score Cards become the property of Justice Served. 20. Recording – Because audio or video recording by members of the audience may distract or disturb Contestants, it is not permitted. 21. Contestants with Special Needs – Contestants with special dietary requirements or questions about handicap accessibility should contact the Contest Chair at gcjf@civiljustice.org well in advance of the Contest Date. 22. Appearance – Contestants should be neat and well groomed and attired so as to demonstrate respect for the Judges, the audience, the subject matter and the proceedings. Formal business attire is appropriate, but not required. Business casual attire is acceptable. Uniforms and clothing bearing the insignia of any entity or organization are not permitted. Contestants should be mindful that clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics or jewelry that distract listeners from a Contestant's message may have the unintended effect of reducing the Contestant's score.