Freedom of Expression Division

Interest Group Awards

Listed here are awards given by the Interest Group to its members. Interests Groups are smaller communities within NCA's large membership that provide a range of resources including networking opportunities, Annual Convention programming, leadership opportunities, awards, and specialized information dissemination channels, among others.

Read more about this Interest Group.

Robert M. O’Neill Top Division Paper Award

Year	Award Winner
2023	Joshua Guitar, Jennifer Hallett, and Ambyre Ponivas, "You Can't Not Spray It When You Say It: A Post-Pandemic Rhetorical Intervention at the Intersection of Free Speech, Public Health, and Harm”
2022	Dale A. Herbeck “Shurtleff v. City of Boston: One Case, Two Frames, and Three Flagpoles”
2021	Ben Medeiros “Taking Stock of the ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Since the Enactment of the GDPR."
2020	Christopher Gilbert, “From Press Freedoms to Flashpoints in the Firestorms of Editorial Cartoons”
2019	Jason Zenor, “From Blurred Lines to Slants: Applying Free Speech Theory to IP Law"
2018	Ben Medeiros, “User-Generated Content and the Regulation of Reputational Harm: The Case of the Boston Marathon Bombing”
2017	A. Jay Wagner, "Informing the Public, Watching the Rascals: Exploring FOIA's First Amendment Ties"
2016	Sharon Docter, “Why Bloggers and Journalists Should be Treated the Same Under Libel Laws”
2015	Brian Amsden, “Rhetorical Interventions in the Law: Interpreting ‘I ♥ Boobies!’”
2014	Kevin Johnson and Craig Smith, “Fear and the First Amendment”
2010	David R. Dewberry and Katie Langford, “Silencing Spectacles”
2003	Donald Fishman
2001	Donald Fishman
1999	Craig R. Smith, “44 Liquormart: Unanimity without Consensus”
1997	Craig R. Smith, “The Unconstitutional Nature of Product Specific Bans and Taxes: The case of Bill Board Advertising”
1995	Richard Parker, “A Marketplace of Ideas: Myths, Metaphors and Ideals in First Amendment Jurisprudence”

Top Student Paper Award

Year	Award Winner
2023	Meiqing Zhang, "Evolving Relevance of Liberty and Equality in Democratic Discourse: A Semantic Approach”
2022	Averie Vockel “It's Time to SLAPP Back”
2020	Rachel Buitrago & Jane Choi, “Perceptions of Freedom of Expression on College Campuses”
2019	Robbyn Taylor, “From Rules to Reality: DC Comics’ Place in Shifting a Genre”
2018	Alvin Primack, “Parrhêsia: A Situational Ethics of Free Speech and Communication Law”
2017	Alvin Primack, "Youth Sexting, Child Pornography Law, and the First Amendment: Toward an Alternative Media Production and Distribution Model for Evaluating Youth Sexual Expression"