ABA announces finalists for 2018 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts

The American Bar Association last week announced the 19 finalists for the 2018 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 ABA Gavel Awards Screen­ing Committee had a very difficult task in selecting these finalists among so many qualified entries,” said Stephen C. Edds, chair of the Standing Committee on Gavel Awards. “We congratulate our finalists and look forward to choosing awardees among an already select group.”

The winners will be announced on May 23.

No more than one Silver Gavel is presented in each category. Honorable mentions are also awarded, but awards are not presented in every category every year.

The ABA Gavel Awards Screen­ing Committee, composed of 45 lawyer-members of the ABA, selected the 19 finalists from 166 entries received in all eligible categories, which include books, commentary, documentaries, drama and literature, magazines, multimedia, newspapers, radio, and television.

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 Association has presented these awards each year since 1958. The 18-member ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards makes the final award decisions. ABA President Hilarie Bass will present Silver Gavels and Honorable Mentions on July 17 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The following is a complete list of finalists with links to their work:

BOOKS

• “An American Sickness”

Elizabeth Rosenthal, author

Penguin Random House

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318 776/an-american-sickness-by-elisabeth-rosenthal/9781594206757/

• “Habeas Corpus in Wartime: From the Tower of London to Guantanamo Bay”

Amanda Tyler, author

Oxford University Press

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/habeas-corpus-in-wartime-9780199856664?cc= us&lang= en&

• “In Praise of Litigation”

Alexandra Lahav, author

Oxford University Press

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/in-praise-of-litigation -9780199380800?cc=us&lang=en&

• “Not a Crime to be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America”

Peter Edelman, author

The New Press

https://thenewpress.com/books/not-crime-be-poor-0

• “The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives”

Jesse Eisinger, author

Simon & Schuster

http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Chickenshit-Club/Jesse-Eisinger/978150112 1364

• “Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission”

Barry Friedman, author

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374537456

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DOCUMENTARIES

• “And Then They Came for Us”

Ginzberg Productions

Abby Ginzberg, producer and co-director

Ken Schneider, editor and co-director

Tatsu Aoki, composer

Richard Cahan, associate producer and photo historian

https://www.thentheycamedoc.com/

• “Birthright: A War Story”

Tamarkin Productions

Civia Tamarkin, director, executive producer, and co-writer

Luchina Fisher, co-executive producer and co-writer

https://www.birthrightfilm.com/

• “They Call Us Monsters”

BMP Films

Ben Lear, director

Sasha Alpert, producer

https://www.theycallusmonsters.com/

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DRAMA & LITERATURE

• “Marshall”

Michael Koskoff and Jacob Koskoff, writers

Reginald Hudlin, director and producer

Paula Wagner and Jonathan Sanger, producers

Chestnut Ridge Productions and Hudlin Entertainment

Open Road Films and Starlight Media

http://marshallmovie.com/

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MULTIMEDIA

• “Witness to Guantanamo”

Peter Honigsberg, director and founder

John Symons, filmmaker

Eva Moss, creative director

Adriana Puente, director of Development & Engage­ment

Melissa Delizio, designer

Kira Cain, social media coordinator

http://witnesstoguantanamo.com/

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NEWSPAPERS

• “Death-Penalty Defense Drama at Guantanamo War Court”

Miami Herald

Carol Rosenberg, Military Affairs reporter

Dave Wilson, senior editor

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/ world/americas/guantanamo/

• “Secrecy Rules”

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.)

James Shiffer, reporter

Karen Lundegaard, digital editor

http://www.startribune.com/secrecy-rules/4343 48243/

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RADIO

• “Breakdown Season 6: A Jury of his Peers”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Richard Halicks, senior editor

Kevin Riley, editor-in-chief

Bill Rankin, Legal Affairs writer

Pete Corson, audience specialist

https://www.myajc.com/voices/breakdown/

• “Null and Void”

Radiolab at WNYC

Maria Matasar-Padilla, managing director

Tracie Hunte, reporter

Matt Kielty, producer

Soren Wheeler, managing editor

http://www.radiolab.org/story/null-and-void/

• “The Bookie, the Phone Booth, and the FBI”

WNYC Studios New York Public Radio

Manoush Zomorodi, host and managing editor

Kat Aaron, senior producer

Jen Poyant, executive producer

https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/fourth-amend ment-privacy/

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TELEVISION

• “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”

PBS Distribution, Frontline, and ITVS

Mitten Media, Motto Pictures and Kartemquin Films Production

Steve James, director

Mark Mitten, producer

Julie Goldman, producer

https://www.abacusmovie.com/

• “Baltimore Rising”

Blowback Productions for HBO Documentary Films

Sonja Sohn, director and executive producer

Marc Levin, Anthony Hemingway, George Pelecanos, and Mark Taylor, executive producers

Sheila Nevins, executive producer, HBO

Nancy Abraham, senior producer

https://www.blowbackproductions.com/baltimore-rising-2017

• 48 Hours: “Guilty Until Proven Innocent”

48 Hours/CBS News

Charlotte Fuller and Alicia Tejada, field producers

Maureen Maher, correspondent

Peter Schweitzer, senior producer

Nancy Kramer, executive story editor

Judy Rybak, producer

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/guilty-until-pro ven-innocent/