An award , sometimes called a distinction , is 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 .
10-801: The Silver Gavel Award (also known as the ABA Silver Gavel Awards for Media and The Arts ) is an annual award the American Bar Association gives to honor outstanding work by those who help improve comprehension of jurisprudence in the United States . 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
20-455: A decoration or an insignia suitable for wearing, such as a medal , badge , award pin or rosette . It can also be a token object such as a certificate , diploma , championship belt , trophy or plaque . The award may also be accompanied by a title of honor , and an object of direct cash value, such as prize money or a scholarship . Furthermore, an honorable mention is an award given, typically in education , that does not confer
30-653: The National Press Club and included honorees The Denver Post , The Dallas Morning News , and Jeffrey Toobin for his book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court . In 2011 Judge Jean Hudson Boyd was the first woman to receive the award. The News & Observer noted, "The ... Silver Gavel Awards are considered the premier honors for law-related publications and productions." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette characterized
40-468: The Pulitzer Prize honors literary achievements. An award may be a public acknowledgment of excellence without any tangible token or prize. Awards for sports tournaments often take the form of cups , following a tradition harking back to the ancient Greek tripod given to winners in athletic contests. The Stanley Cup is a modern example. In contrast, awards for employee recognition often take
50-579: 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 periodicals , journalism , 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
60-539: The chairman of the American Bar Association's standing committee on gavel awards. In a comment in the ABA Journal , 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." The Bar Association gave
70-438: The first award in 1958. The film directed by Sidney Lumet , 12 Angry Men , received the award in 1958. Stanley Kramer 's movie Judgment at Nuremberg received the award in 1962, and To Kill a Mockingbird directed by Robert Mulligan 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,
80-533: The form of plaques or crystal pieces. An award may carry a monetary prize given to the recipient. Finally, an award may recognize participation rather than victory. There is controversy regarding the appropriateness of participation awards for students in United States schools. A relative field to awards is phaleristics , an auxiliary science of history and numismatics which studies orders , fraternities and award items , such as medals and other decorations. State decoration A state decoration
90-404: The honor as the "top media award" of the American Bar Association. Award An award may be described by three aspects: 1) to whom it is given to 2) what 3) by whom, all varying according to purpose. The recipient is often awarded to an individual, a student, athlete or representative of a group of people, be it an organisation , a sports team or a whole country . The award item may be
100-512: The recipient(s) a higher standing but is considered worth mentioning in an honourable way. An award may be conferred as a state decoration by a sovereign state , dynasty or other public authority (see fount of honour ), or a private organisation or individual. The latter may also include ecclesiastical authorities, such as in the case of ecclesiastical awards . For example, the Nobel Prize recognizes contributions to society, while
#877122