The American Bar Association today announced its selections for the 2016 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts, which recognize outstanding work that fosters the American public's understanding of law and the legal system. This is the ABA's highest honor in recognition of this purpose.
The winners are:
-"Speak Now: Marriage Equality on Trial," a book that tells the story of the groundbreaking federal lawsuit against California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.
-"Making a Murderer," a 10-episode documentary thriller, set in America's heartland, about a DNA exoneree who finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime. Filmed over a 10-year period, it examines allegations of police and prosecutorial misconduct, evidence tampering and witness coercion.
-"Law, Justice and the Death of Michael Brown," a set of news stories published online by St. Louis Public Radio that offered in-depth legal understanding to the highly charged aftermath of the shooting of an unarmed AfricanAmerican teenager by a white Ferguson, Mo., police officer.
-"On the Media: Bench Press," a radio program that seeks to demystify the U.S. Supreme Court and to inspire greater interest and curiosity about one of our nation's most consequential and mysterious institutions.
-POV: Tough Love, a television documentary that illuminates America's foster care system by allowing viewers to see and hear the personal stories of parents who fight to make their families whole.
The awards ceremony will take place July 12 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. ABA President Paulette Brown will present the Silver Gavel Awards to honorees.
The ABA will present five Silver Gavels and three honorable mentions from 122 entries received in all eligible categories - books, magazines, newspapers, commentary, drama and literature, documentaries, television, radio and other media.
Selection criteria include: how the entry addresses the Gavel Awards' purpose and objectives; educational value of legal information; impact on, or outreach to, the public; thoroughness and accuracy in presentation of issues; creativity and originality in approach to subject matter and effectiveness of presentation; and demonstrated technical skill in the entry's production.
"The highly selective group of winners of the 2016 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts are the end result of a rigorous review by the American Bar Association," said Maryland District Court Judge Pamila J. Brown, chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards. "We congratulate all of the awardees for their extraordinary efforts to foster the American public's understanding of law."
The awards have been presented annually since 1958. The 18-member ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards makes the final award decisions.
To learn more about the Silver Gavel Awards, go to www.ambar. org/gavelawards.
Published: Thu, May 19, 2016
