CBS’ Norah O’Donnell and a Snoop Dogg-produced documentary are among the winners of the ABA’s 2023 Silver Gavel Awards. The American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts, 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.
Topics focusing on inequality, injustice, forgiveness, redemption, abortion rights, eavesdropping, affirmative action and modern-day slavery took the top prizes.
This year the ABA is presenting nine Silver Gavels and five Honorable Mentions among 30 finalists identified from 165 entries received in all eligible categories, which include books, commentary, documentaries, drama and literature, magazines, multimedia, newspapers, radio and television.
“The American Bar Association has completed its deliberative and careful review of each of the outstanding finalists,” said Lisa Bail, chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards. “The selected winners of the Silver Gavel Awards have produced exceptional work that advances public understanding of the law and the justice system. We congratulate each of the awardees on this well-deserved recognition.”
ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross will present the awards at the 65th Anniversary Silver Gavel Awards Presentation on July 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed.
The following is a complete list of the 2023 Silver Gavel award winners with links to their work:
BOOKS?Silver Gavel – “The Other Side of Prospect”?W.W. Norton & Company?Nicholas Dawidoff, author
COMMENTARY?Silver Gavel – “The Maddening Irrelevance of Charlie Vaughn’s Innocence”?The Watch?Radley Balko, independent journalist
DOCUMENTARIES?Silver Gavel – “When Claude Got Shot”?371 Productions?Brad Lichtenstein, director?Steven Cantor, Brad Lichtenstein and Jamie Schutz, producers ?Snoop Dogg, Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen, Leslie Fields Cruz, Geralyn Dreyfous and 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
Honorable Mention – “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
Honorable Mention – “The Lost Story of Emmett Till”?NBC 5 Chicago (WMAQ-TV)?Marion Brooks, anchor and investigative reporter?DS Shin, photographer/ editor?Tom Jones, investigative producer?Lauren Stauffer, managing editor?Lisa Balde, vice president of digital media?Akemi Harrison, assistant news director Frank Whittaker, vice president of news?Kevin Cross, general manager
DRAMA & LITERATURE Silver Gavel – “Take My Hand” Penguin Random House Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author
Honorable Mention – “Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till”?Collaboraction Theatre Anthony Moseley and Dana N. Anderson, producers/directors Gary Mills and Willie Round, writers/producers?Carla Stillwell, Saudia Davis and Pricilla Torres, producers?Marquis Simmons, assistant director/producer??
MAGAZINES?Silver Gavel – “The Rogue Court that Paved the Way for Roe’s Demise”?Texas Monthly?Michael Hall, writer/ executive editor
MULTIMEDIA?Silver Gavel – “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?Silver Gavel – “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
RADIO?Silver Gavel – “Affirmative Action Faces Toughest Test in a Generation”?Bloomberg Industry Group?Matthew S. Schwartz, host/producer?Josh Block, editor/ executive producer
Honorable Mention – “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
TELEVISION?Silver Gavel – “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, Elaine Quijano, Lana Zak and Nancy Cordes, 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 and Heather Spinelli, editors
Honorable Mention – “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 ABA has presented these awards each year since 1958. The 16-member ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards makes the final award decisions. 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.
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.
