ABA names winners of the 2025 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts

Topics focusing on democracy, jail fees, access to health care, evictions, civil rights, delayed justice for sexual assault survivors, the scope of rationality and civics took the top prizes for the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts.  

The awards 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. 

This year the ABA is presenting eight Silver Gavels and five Honorable Mentions among 24 finalists identified from 122 entries received in all eligible categories, which include books, commentary, documentaries, drama and literature, magazines, multimedia, newspapers, radio and television.

“One of the many ways the ABA promotes the rule of law and our system of justice is through the Silver Gavel awards,” said Ruth Bahe-Jachna, chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards. “We were challenged as a selection committee to make very difficult decisions in determining this year’s award recipients because we had a truly outstanding group of semifinalists. It is rewarding to see the depth of commitment and high quality that permeates our media and the arts in producing works that are accessible to the American public and help them achieve a greater understanding of and appreciation for our legal system.”

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 William R. Bay will present Silver Gavels and Honorable Mentions on Saturday, Aug. 9, at 3 p.m. at the ABA Annual Meeting at the Sheraton City Centre in Toronto. The event is free and open to the public.

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

Books

Silver Gavel – “The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It”
W.W. Norton and Company
Corey Brettschneider, author 

Honorable Mention – “The Fall of Roe” 
Flatiron Books
Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer, co-authors

Commentary

Silver Gavel – “Ending Pay to Stay”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Tony Messenger, metro columnist
Alan Achkar, executive editor

Documentaries

Silver Gavel – “Zurawski v Texas”
Out of Nowhere, Hidden Light Productions, Story Force
Maisie Crow, director/producer/director of photography
Abbie Perrault, director/producer
Amy Flanagan, Siobhan Sinnerton, Blye Pagon Faust, Cori Shepherd, producers
Austin Reedy, editor
Osei Essed, original music

Honorable Mention – “The Sing Sing Chronicles”
NBC News Studios, MSNBC Films, Trilogy Films
Kimberly Ferdinando, showrunner/executive producer, NBC News Studio
Liz Cole, executive producer, NBC News Studio
Dan Slepian, reporter, NBC News Studio
Rashida Jones, Rebecca Kutler, Amanda Spain, executive producers, MSNBC Films
Dawn Porter, director/executive producer, Trilogy Films
Laren Capps, Sadie Bass, producers
Rosie Walunas, editor
Bryant Fisher, Sean Gallagher, cinematographers
Nathan Halpern, music

Magazines

Silver Gavel – “The Eviction Cure”
Texas Monthly
J.K. Nickell, writer
Jeff Salamon, editor
 
Honorable Mention – “Courting Injustice”
Bloomberg Businessweek
Monte Reel, Sinduja Rangarajan, Michael Riley, reporters
Josh Hersh, producer

Multimedia

Silver Gavel – “Brown v. Board of Education Revisited”
Northwestern University Knight Lab; Spooler; Respeecher; Idib Group; Neubottle
Jerry Goldman, professor, Northwestern University
Joe Germuska, executive director, Northwestern University Knight Lab
Andy Bowers, chief creative officer, Spooler
Kerry Donahue, executive producer, Spooler
Serhii Dvornyk, synthetic speech artist, Respeecher
Francesco Stagno d’Alcontres, CEO & UX lead designer, Idib Group
Pat Ward, owner, Neubottle
Dion Graham, voice actor
Karen Grisby Bates, narrator
Jeff Parsons, consultant