ABA names finalists for Silver Gavel Awards

The American Bar Association recently announced the 30 finalists for the 2023 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 will be announced on May 24. No more than one Silver Gavel is presented in each category. Honorable Mentions are also recognized, but awards are not presented in every category every year.

The ABA Gavel Awards Screening Committee of 50 professionals with wide ranges of legal and media expertise, including lawyer-members of the ABA, selected the 30 finalists from 165 entries received in all eligible categories, which include books, commentaries, documentaries, drama and literature, magazines, multimedia, newspapers, radio and television.

Selection criteria include how the entry addresses the Silver 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.

“We are pleased to announce our outstanding finalists in all nine award categories,” said Lisa Bail, chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards. “Thank you to the Gavel Awards Screening Committee for their dedicated review of the exceptional submissions we received this year. Congratulations to all of the finalists for their excellent work.,” The ABA has presented these awards each year since 1958. The 16-member ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards makes the final award decisions. ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross will present Silver Gavels and Honorable Mentions on July 25 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.            

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

—Books

• “Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution,” The New Press, Elie Mystal, author

• “Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America,” Penguin Press, Dahlia Lithwick, author

• “G-Man,” Viking/Penguin Publishing Group, Beverly Gage, author

• “Prosecuting Poverty, Criminalizing Care,” Cambridge University Press, Wendy A. Bach, author

• “The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It,” PublicAffairs, Russ Feingold and Peter Prindiville, authors

• “The Other Side of Prospect,” W.W. Norton & Company, Nicholas Dawidoff, author

• “Tyrants on Twitter: Protecting Democracies from Information Warfare,” Stanford University Press, David L. Sloss, author

—Commentary

• “The Maddening Irrelevance of Charlie Vaughn's Innocence,” The Watch, Radley Balko, independent journalist

—Documentaries

• “American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton,” Open Eye Pictures; Lise Pearlman, producer; Abby Ginzberg and Robert Richter, co-producers; Andrew Abrahams, co-director, producer, principal DP, editor; Herb Ferrette, co-director

• “Batali: The Fall of a Superstar Chef,” Left/Right TV, Ken Druckerman and Anneka Jones, executive producers; Singeli Agnew, director; Veronika Adaskova, producer; Ian Kelsey, associate producer; Irene Plagianos, consulting producer; Chris O’Coin and Marlon Singleton, editors; Victor Tadashi Suarez, director of photography; Jeremy Gould, additional photography; David Ahuja, graphics;
Jeremy Little, composition

• “Pepsi, Where's My Jet?,” Boardwalk Pictures, Netflix; Andrew Renzi, director; Andrew Corkin, Nick Boak, Theo James, Andrew Fried, Jordy Wynn, Dane Lilegard, Sarina Roma, executive producers; Jeff Peterman, cinematographer; Wyatt Rogowski, Ed Greene, Ben Wolin, editors; Chase Deso, composer

• “The Lost Story of Emmett Till,” NBC 5 Chicago (WMAQ-TV), Collaboraction Theatre Company; Marion Brooks, NBC Chicago, anchor and investigative reporter; DS Shin, NBC Chicago, photographer/editor; Tom Jones, NBC Chicago, investigative producer; Lauren Stauffer, NBC Chicago, managing editor; Lisa Balde, NBC Chicago, vice president of digital media; Akemi Harrison,
NBC Chicago, assistant news director; Frank Whittaker, NBC Chicago, vice president of news; Kevin Cross, NBC Chicago, general manager; Saudia Davis, Collaboraction, executive director; Carla Stillwell, Collaboraction, producer; Marquis Simmons, Collaboraction, assistant director and associate producer; Pricilla Torres, Collaboraction, associate producer; Anthony Moseley, Collaboraction, artistic director; Dana N. Anderson, Collaboraction, co-director; G. Riley Mills and Willie Round, Collaboraction, co-writers of adaptation

• “When Claude Got Shot,” 371 Productions; Brad Lichtenstein, director ; Steven Cantor, Brad Lichtenstein, Jamie Schutz, producers ; Snoop Dogg, Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen, Leslie Fields Cruz, Geralyn Dreyfous, Ted Chung, executive producers; Patty Quillin, co-executive producer; Santana Coleman, co-producer; Michelle Chang, editor; Colin Sytsma, director of photography; Vernon Reid, original music; Noland Walker, consulting producer; Shana Swanson, supervising producer

—Drama & Literature

• “Take My Hand,” Penguin Random House, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author

• “Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till,” Collaboraction Theatre and NBC Chicago; Anthony Moseley, Collaboraction, producer/director/co-producer; Gary Mills, Collaboraction, co-writer; Willie Round, Collaboraction, co-writer; Carla Stillwell, Collaboraction, producer; Dana N. Anderson, Collaboraction, co-director; Marion Brooks and Lauren Staffer, NBC Chicago, producers; DS Shin, NBC Chicago, editor

—Magazines

• “The Rogue Court that Paved the Way for Roe's Demise,” Texas Monthly, Michael Hall, writer/executive editor

• “The Secret Police,” MIT Technology Review; Tate Ryan-Mosley, reporter; Mat Honan, editor in chief; Michael Reilly, executive editor; Bobbie Johnson, editor; Linda Lowenthal, copy chief; Stephanie Arnett, art director; Emily Luong, art director; Sam Richards, freelance reporter; Jess Aloe, freelance contributing reporter; Sara Shay, freelance copy editor; Matt Mahoney and Cheryl Alkon, freelance fact-checkers

—Multimedia

• “Banking on Crime,” AL.com; Ashley Remkus, investigative reporter; John Archibald, reporter/columnist; Ramsey Archibald, data reporter; Challen Stephens, investigative editor; Joe Songer, photographer; Amanda Khorramabadi and Anissa Latham-Brown, Red Clay Media, video producers; Sydney Batten, Red Clay Media, video producer; Tamika Moore, Red Clay Media, managing producer; Jeremy Burns, Area 47 Sound, freelance audio engineer; Kavolshaia Howze, Reckon News, video producer; R.L. Nave, Reckon News, editor-in-chief; Taj Devore-Bey, freelancer cinematographer; Marsha Oglesby, Advance Originals, executive producer

• “Eavesdropping in Maine Jails,” The Maine Monitor; Samantha Hogan, reporter; Eric Conrad and David Dahl, editors; George Harvey, multimedia editor; Hal Madsen, copyeditor; Rose Ciotta, Investigative Editing Corps., editor

—Newspapers

• “Captive no More: One SC Man’s Journey to Freedom After Years in Modern-day Slavery,” The Post and Courier; Jennifer Berry Hawes, watchdog and public service reporter; Autumn Phillips, executive editor; Glenn Smith, watchdog and public service editor; Andrew Whitaker, photojournalist; Brandon Lockett, digital graphics producer

• “Hawaii v. Parental Rights,” Honolulu Civil Beat; John Hill, investigations editor; Anita Hofschneider, reporter,; April Estrellon, interactive developer

• “Juvenile Injustice,” Star Tribune; Liz Sawyer and Chris Serres, reporters; MaryJo Webster, data editor; Jerry Holt, photojournalist; Bryan Brussee, digital designer; Josh Jones, lead news designer;
Abby Simons, team leader, public safety; Eric Wieffering, deputy managing editor, enterprise and investigations

• “The Prison Sell,” The Arizona Republic; Joseph Darius Jaafari, Jimmy Jenkins, Justin Price, Geoff Hing, reporting and analysis; Geoff Hing, Carlie Procell, Leah Trinidad, data/graphics/map production; Michael Chow, Rob Schumacher, Antranik Tavitian, Alberto Mariani, Megan Mendoza, photography; Merry Eccles, Andrea Brunty, digital design and illustrations; Kim Bui, Lexi Potter, Stacy Sullivan, Diana Payan, social media, engagement and promotion; Michael Braga, Chad Snow/KJZZ, Sky Schaudt/KJZZ, project editors; Becca Dyer, copy editor; Greg Burton, executive editor

—Radio

• “Affirmative Action Faces Toughest Test in a Generation,” Bloomberg Industry Group; Matthew S. Schwartz, host/producer; Josh Block, editor/executive producer

• “Breakdown: Season 9, The Trump Grand Jury,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Bill Rankin, creator/host/writer/senior reporter legal affairs; Tamar Hallerman, host/writer/senior reporter enterprise; Shane Backler, sound engineer/producer/senior producer, podcasts & audio content; Jay Black, audio & podcast program manager; Pete Corson, digital presentation specialist

• “Missing Justice,” Paramount/CBS News/Neon Hum Media; Cara Korte and Bo Erickson, digital reporters at CBS News; Dr. Iris PrettyPaint, member of the Blackfeet Nation, descendent of the Crow Nation, sensitivity reader; Steve Raizes, executive vice president of podcasting and audio at Paramount; Megan Marcus, vice president of podcast editorial; Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, executive vice president of newsgathering at CBS News; Mark Lima, DC bureau chief at CBS News; Jamie Benson, senior producer CBS News Radio; Jonathan Hirsch, executive Producer at Neon Hum; Joanna Clay, senior producer at Neon Hum; Liz Sanchez, associate producer at Neon Hum; Stephanie Serrano, associate editor at Neon Hum; Asha Iwanowicz, original music; Scott Sommerville, sound design; Epidemic Sound, additional tracks; Naomi Barr, fact checker

• “Open and Shut,” Wisconsin Watch and Wisconsin Public Radio; Phoebe Petrovic, host/reporter; Phoebe Petrovic and Nina Earnest, producers; Dee J. Hall, reporter/managing editor/digital story editor; Enjoyiana Nururdin and Clare Amari, production assistants; Karen Given, editor; Coburn Dukehart, digital project manager; Alyssa Allemand and David Hyland, digital editors; Brad Kolberg, technical director; Karl Christenson, music; John Thomas Nichols, art direction; Angela Woodward, marketing specialist; Amanda Starich, Anna Rueden and Jane Jiumaleh, digital design; Christa Westerberg and Aaron Dumas, legal review; Andy Hall, Noah Ovshinsky, Bridgit Bowden, Madeline Heim and Wesley Lethem, additional support

—Television

• “Prosecuting Pregnancy Loss,” ABC News; Devin Dwyer, correspondent; Patty See, producer; Paul Strzegowski, editor; Duane Poquis, photographer; Hing Ng, audio technician

• “Spotlight: Supreme Court,” ABC News; Devin Dwyer, correspondent; Sarah Herndon, Robert Gehlen and Isabella Meneses, producers; Paul Strzegowski, editor; Paul Dougherty, director of photography; Joey Ybarra, Lincoln Wiese and Sal Malguarnera, photographers; John Fonseca, Jeff Edrich and Larry Kaltenbach, audio technicians

• “The CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell: Roe v Wade,” CBS News; Norah O’Donnell, anchor and managing editor; Adam Verdugo, executive producer; Alturo Rhymes, executive story editor; Elizabeth Turner, senior broadcast producer; Jan Crawford, Omar Villafranca, Jamie Yuccas, Lana Zak, Nancy Cordes and Elaine Quijano, correspondents; Julie Morse, Brian Gottlieb, Paul Facey, Sherri Sylvester, and Patrick Becker, senior producers; Robert Kozberg, Caroline Bol, Anam Siddiq, Chris Liable, Kate Rydell, Corey Rangel, Rebecca Kaplan, Rebecca Reingold, Durrell Dawson, Angela Moore, Maggie Dore and Olivia Rinaldi, producers; Brian McEneny, Stephen Boyd, Chris Hassan, Larry Goldfine, George Whipple, Gustavo Sampaio, Heather Spinelli, editors
To learn more about the Silver Gavel Awards, visit www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/programs/silver_gavel.