Roderick Wilson Wins Baylor Law School’s Ultimate Writer Competition

Baylor Law School has named Roderick Wilson the first-place winner of its annual Ultimate Writer Legal Writing Competition, which challenges students to produce a polished, persuasive legal argument under real-world time constraints.

In this year’s competition, participants were given five days to draft a response to a motion filed by the United States in a federal criminal case. The motion sought to compel a defendant to unlock his personal cell phone using “any biometric method applicable to the phone,” including fingerprint or facial recognition. Competitors argued that requiring the defendant to unlock the phone would violate the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination.

Roderick Wilson was selected as the overall winner for his clarity of analysis and persuasive legal writing. Evan Curry placed second, Brody Contreras earned third place, and Grace Neale and Evan Patel were named semifinalists based on the strength of their submissions.

The Ultimate Writer Competition is made possible through the generous support of The Lisa and Charlie Frazier Endowed Fund for Excellence in Writing at Baylor Law. This fund advances Baylor Law School’s commitment to being a practical, practice-ready institution by supporting intentional instruction and mentorship in high-quality legal writing.