Celebrating the U.S. Constitution and the theme "We the People," the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California held a poster contest and received nearly 200 entries from high school students in San Diego County. At a reception at the courthouse on Thursday, April 22, 2004,  nine winners received awards and the chance to have their artwork publicly displayed on the court's Broadway street frontage. First place winner was Daniel Gonzales, a high school student at Samuel F.B. Morse High School.

"Each winner explained the story behind his or her work," said Chief Judge Marilyn Huff (S.D. Cal.). "All of their stories were as moving as the images they depicted. The first place poster depicted a soldier on his barracks cot in Iraq reading a letter from a loved one; behind him was a shadow of the man in uniform holding his daughter and anticipating his reunion with her upon his safe return. The only colors in the poster are the red, white, and blue of the flag pinned to the wall."

A panel of judges, lawyers, and community representatives selected the winningentries out of about 200 entries from across San Diego County. The contest wassponsored by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Californiaand lawyers from the San Diego County Bar Association.