2026 Essay Contest Winners
- Your name here (1st) – Your winning essay title here
- The next best essayist’s name here (2nd) – The next best essay title here
The 2026 Essay Question
Coming soon.
BACKGROUND
Details coming soon.
Rules for the Contest
Eligibility: This contest is open to all students (undergraduate and graduate) who will be enrolled at Marshall University full-time in the fall of 2025.
Deadline: Your essay must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 14, 2026. Submissions are to be made via email to Patricia.Proctor@marshall.edu. Both a PDF and Microsoft Word version of your essay must be attached to your submission email. Use the “read receipt” feature to ensure your entry was received.
Judges: Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges.
Length: Your essay is expected to be approximately 8 to 15 pages long, though this page range is reasonably flexible (the essay can be slightly longer or shorter).
Writing and Research: You are to proofread your work carefully to ensure that it meets collegiate writing standards. Your entry can rely on the sources cited above, all of which can be accessed through the Marshall University library online. In addition, you should conduct and cite your own research.
Citation of Sources and Plagiarism: You are expected to cite sources to support your arguments, including peer-reviewed and scholarly sources. Your research should reflect a high degree of information literacy skills demonstrated by the quality of materials you rely upon. You must be sure that all your sources are properly cited and thus can be located and verified by the contest judges. You should include internal citations adjacent to the material relied upon and a bibliography at the end of your paper.
All entries will be submitted to plagiarism-detecting software programs and checked to ensure that they comply with the Marshall University policies regarding academic integrity.
Your writing should be your own. Contestants are prohibited from using generative AI in any way in this contest. The use of generative AI in this contest will be considered a violation of Marshall’s Academic Dishonesty Policy and will be dealt with accordingly.
History of the Contest
The Dan O’Hanlon Essay Competition was established in 2009, after an anonymous donor requested that Marshall find a way to promote scholarship related to the Constitution and simultaneously honor retired Cabell County Circuit Court Judge Dan O’Hanlon. Prior to his long career on the bench, Judge O’Hanlon served as professor and chair of the Marshall University Criminal Justice Department. In 2007, he was selected by the West Virginia Justice Association as Judge of the Year.
Previous Winners
2025
- Cameron Mays (1st) – A Declining Democracy: The Impact of Weath Inequality on the American Political System
- Miriam Crookshanks (2nd) – “We The People:” Billionaires’ For-Profit Policies and Erosion of Democracy
2024
- Tyler Farley (1st) – Rethinking the American Immigration System: A Bipartisan Blueprint for Congressional Reform
- Miriam Crookshanks (2nd) – With Fear for Our Democracy, I Dissent: Restoring Public Trust in the Separation of Powers
2023
- Brendin Flinn (1st) – Healing a Divided Nation: A Path to Repairing Democratic Norms in the Face of Pernicious Polarization and Political Violence
- Connor Waller (2nd) – Finding and Declaring Our Conscience: The Battle for Democracy and the Principles of “Americanism”
2022
- Nicolas Raffinengo (1st) – Equality Throughout a Nation The Equal Rights Amendment is the Key to Protect All Citizens
- Addie McDaniel (2nd) – The Potential Abandonment of Stare Decisis and the Necessity of the Equal Rights Amendment
2021
- Brendin Flinn (1st) – Adapting to the New Public Forum: Free Expression in the Age of Big Tech
- YÉMAYA (2nd) – www.g-dd@m/ a Defense for the Preservation of Section 230 of the CDA
2020
- Brendin Flinn (1st) – Justice’s Vision: Historicizing Black Lives Matter as the Modern Abolition Movement
- Payton Fitchpatrick (2nd) – “Striking” Similarities Between The West Virginia Mine Wars and George Floyd Protests: How They Pertain to Civil Disobedience and the Civic Duty All Americans Have to Keep Their “American Creed”
2019
- Miranda Smith (1st) – Rebalancing the Scales: The Need for a Limited and Nonpartisan Supreme Court Amid Threats to Its Legitimacy and Impartiality
- Melody Shea Russell (2nd) – A Case for Changing Congressional Process, not the Supreme Court
2017
- Erin L. Shaver (1st) – Fighting Harmful Words: Balancing Free Speech and Student Well-being for Public Colleges and Universities
- Matthew Gallagher (2nd) – Free Speech, the University, and the Examined Life
2016
- Gregory Ward (1st) – Defending the Fence: The Electoral College’s Vital Role within Madison’s Constitutional Model
- Cindy D. Krepps (2nd) – Dissolving the Electoral College: America’s Cry for Change
2015
- Nicholas Alexander O’Donnell (1st) – SuperPAC Ed: How Citizens United Sets a Faulty Precedent for Corruption and Distortion
- Sepideh Ghenatnevi Dunham (2nd) – Citizens Unite: Combating Corporate Suppression of the Voice of the People
2014
- Sophia D. Mills (1st) – A Step Too Far: Protecting Privacy in a Digital Age
- Olivia Milam (2nd) – The NSA’s Bulk Metadata Program and the Fourth Amendment: Holding True to the Spirit of the Constitution in the Face of Technology
2013
- Laurel Anne Peace (1st) – Disobeying the Constitution
- Adam Shaver (2nd) – The Constitution’s Necessity in American Government
2012
- Joshua Thompson (1st) – “The Individual’s Voice in Democracy: The Right to Vote”
- Lesley Cruickshank (2nd) – “Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act: Preclearance and Public Policy”
2011
- W. Austin Smith II (1st) – “Constitutional Interpretation”
- Justin Setliff (2nd) – “The View of an Originalist”
2010
- Aaron Preece – “The Right to Free Speech in an Academic Setting”
2009
- Joshua Cottle – “Protecting the Constitution: Balancing the Rights of the People and the Union”