Membership Selection
ELIGIBILITY
During the annual write-on competition held at the end of the academic year, we encourage everyone (part-time and full-time) not already on academic probation or in danger thereof to send a write-on submission to the Circuit Review. The eligibility requirements for membership on the Circuit Review are based upon a combination of your writing score, Bluebooking Exercise score and GPA. During the selection process, your writing score and Bluebooking exercise weigh slightly more than your GPA. In other words, we are more concerned with your ability to write well and be resourceful, i.e., to use the Bluebook when necessary. There is no hard 3.0 GPA floor.
This weighing scheme is designed to encourage those exceptional writers with a 2.9 to demonstrate writing ability by participating in the competition. Everyone is on the same plane; there is no heightened GPA requirement for 2Ls. All requirements are subject to alterations to be determined by the Circuit Review editorial board.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY
The Seton Hall Circuit Review was founded on the recognition that thousands of cases are appealed to the federal courts of appeals, but only a handful are ever reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States. This deferral leaves tremendous power in the hands of circuit judges. For practitioners, the courts of appeals provide binding law, and until the Supreme Court speaks, a practitioner's respective court of appeals is the supreme arbiter of the law for that circuit.
Every journal member will be required to write a student piece of publishable quality that might qualify for publication in the Seton Hall Circuit Review. That means the piece must fit the journal’s focus by relating to the federal courts of appeals.
Academic Credit
The Seton Hall Circuit Review enter its 13th year of existence during the 2016-2017 academic school year. The journal offers one (1) academic credit each semester to members who fulfill all requirements for membership.
REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP
The following requirements for membership are taken from the Seton Hall Circuit Review’s Constitution.
Article Five: Membership
Section 1: Minimum Requirements: Each Member is required to contribute the time necessary to fulfill his or her obligations and duties to publishing the Circuit Review. In addition to the timely completion of all tasks assigned by the Editorial Board, each Member is responsible for the following:
(a) completion of any and all sourcebooks and sub-checks of Student pieces or outside articles assigned by the Editorial Board; (b) completion of any and all assignments for the production of the articles or other sections in the Circuit Review; (c) completion of any and all editing assignments for other articles and comments in the Circuit Review; (d) completion of a manuscript ready for publication, as defined in Article Two, Section Two; (e) to act as Associate Editor (“A.E.”) for at least one other student writer; (f) to attend all readings days as prescribed by the Editorial Board; (g) to complete promptly and thoroughly all readings assigned by the Editorial Board; (h) to attend all mandatory Membership meetings; (i) to check regularly the Circuit Review mailboxes for messages and assignments; (j) to complete promptly and thoroughly any other assignments given by the Editorial Board;
Membership is contingent upon the timely and satisfactory fulfillment of these requirements. Failure to fulfill any of the above requirements may result in (1) removal of the Member from the Circuit Review (Article Eleven) and (2) withholding of academic credit by the Faculty Advisor at the request of the Editor-in-Chief (Article Ten), or both.
Section 2: Restrictions:
(a) No Member shall be a Member of any other journal at Seton Hall School of Law.(b) No second-year law student Member of the Circuit Review may engage in outside employment during the academic year that requires a commitment of more than fifteen (15) hours of work per week, except evening students, whose commitment to outside employment may not exceed forty (40) hours per week and except any student who has completed his writing requirements as defined under Article Two, Section Two, whose commitment to outside employment shall not be restricted.
Section 3: Membership Term: An individual’s Circuit Review term will be for theperiod that the student remains at Seton Hall School of Law and continues to fulfill the Member’s Circuit Review obligations. A Member’s continued membership for the next academic year is subject to the outgoing Editorial Board’s approval. A decision to not invite a Member back for the next academic year shall not result in notification of anyone outside of the law school and is not subject to the removal procedures in Article Eleven. However, any Member voluntarily resigning from the journal during the academic year must submit a signed letter to the Editor-in-Chief stating such resignation and the reason(s) for resignation. That letter will be given to the Office of Career Services for forwarding to any potential employer with which the Member is interviewing or to any employer with which the Member has accepted an offer.