The Silver Gavel Award (also known as the ABA Silver Gavel Awards for Media and The Arts) is an annual

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

gives to honor outstanding work by those who help improve comprehension of

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Award

The award is the American Bar Association's highest form of recognition. The American Bar Association gives out the award during its annual meeting, bestowing one award in each of several categories. Decisions on award recipients are announced by the chairman of the American Bar Association's standing committee on gavel awards. In a comment in the ''

ABA Journal The ''ABA Journal'' (since 1984, formerly ''American Bar Association Journal'', 1915–1983, evolved from '' Annual Bulletin'', 1908–1914) is a monthly legal trade magazine and the flagship publication of the American Bar Association. It is no ...

'', American Bar Association Division for Public Education representative Howard Kaplan noted, "From the very beginning, the Association has recognized that legal drama has an unmatched capacity to humanize legal actors and, well, dramatize legal issues for public audiences."

History

The Bar Association gave the first award in 1958. The film directed by Sidney Lumet, '' 12 Angry Men'', received the award in 1958.

Stanley Kramer Stanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous " message films" (he would call his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a liberal movie icon.

's movie '' Judgment at Nuremberg'' received the award in 1962, and ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'' directed by

Robert Mulligan Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his humanist dramas, including '' To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), '' Summer of '42'' (1971), ''The Other'' (1972), '' Same ...

was recognized with the award in 1963. In 1985, 391 candidates were entered in consideration to receive a Silver Gavel. In addition to 15 honorees recognized with Silver Gavel Awards in 1987, the American Bar Association also handed out 20 Certificates of Merit. In 1988, 298 organizations submitted 500 candidates for consideration for the Silver Gavel. A total of 12 awards were given out in 1996, in categories including literary works, pieces written in

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, plays, and writing for the screen. The 51st Silver Gavel Awards were announced by American Bar Association president William H. Neukom in Washington, D.C. at the National Press Club and included honorees ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'', ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''The Galves ...

'', and Jeffrey Toobin for his book '' The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court''. In 2011 Judge

Jean Hudson Boyd Jean Hudson Boyd ('' née'' Lucy Jean Hudson; born August 26, 1954) is an American judge who served as the Presiding Judge of Texas's 323rd District Court. The 323rd District Court serves Tarrant County, Texas, as its juvenile court. Boyd, a R ...

was the first woman to receive the award.

Reception

'' The News & Observer'' noted, "The ... Silver Gavel Awards are considered the premier honors for law-related publications and productions." The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' characterized the honor as the "top media award" of the American Bar Association.

List of Winners

References

External links