Law Students

State Bar of Texas Law Student Division Announces its Spring Scholarship Winners
By: Belashia Wallace

Congratulations to our 2015 State Bar of Texas Law Student Division Spring Essay Contest winners, John Eisler of Texas Tech University School of Law and Guy Holman of Thurgood Marshall School of Law!

The award is a $1,000 scholarship to two law students from among the ABA-accredited law schools in Texas. This annual contest provides an opportunity to help students and the public better understand the justice system. Moreover, it offers us the ability to reflect on our nation’s legal heritage. This year’s theme was Magna Carta: Symbol of freedom under law.

Perhaps more than any other document in human history, Magna Carta has come to embody a simple but enduring truth: No one, no matter how powerful, is above the law. In the eight centuries that have elapsed since Magna Carta was sealed in 1215, it has taken root as an international symbol of the rule of law and an inspiration for many basic rights Americans hold dear today. These rights include due process, habeas corpus, trial by jury, and the right to travel.

Contest applicants were required to be an active member of the Law Student Division and write an essay explaining how Magna Carta has impacted individual liberties. In honor of Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary this year, State Bar of Texas volunteering attorneys selected the top two essays.

Belashia Wallace is a student at Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston and the law student liaison to TYLA.