THE EATON Award

The University of Chicago Federalist Society is pleased to announce the Eaton Award, a writing prize made possible by the generous donation of Professor Philip Eaton! The award is designed to encourage new scholarship in the area of Constitutional Law and to develop young Constitutional Law scholars. This year’s topic invites students to consider how unwritten law intersects with the Constitution. The winner of the 2026 award will receive an amount in excess of $1500 and recognition at an appropriate ceremony at the University of Chicago.

Please see the document linked below for the official prompt and the rules for submission. We encourage anyone with an essay that may qualify to submit! Entries should be sent to Brendan Kiernan at brendankiernan9@uchicago.edu no later than March 27, 2026.

Prior Recipients

Luke Schumacher (2025)

"The Executive Travels Alone: Presidential Prerogative & Judicial Abstention in War."

Honorable Mentions:

Brian Chen, "Taking Care of Immigration Law."

Elias Neibart, "'External Restraints' on Article II?"

Jack Ferguson (2024)

"Stipulations of Law and Agency Independence."

His essay can be viewed on SSRN via this link.

Ariana Wilner (2023)

"The Constitutionality of Platform Content Moderation Bans from a Historical Perspective."

Her essay can be viewed on SSRN via this link.