The American Bar Association announced on May 24 that a Texas Monthly story by Michael Hall was among nine winners of the 2023 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts. The award is meant to 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.
Michael Hall’s article “The Rogue Court That Paved the Way for Roe’s Demise,” which ran in the September 2022 issue, was nominated in March of this year alongside 29 other finalists across all categories. The article, edited by features director J. K. Nickell, profiles four judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit who are spearheading a partisan movement to redefine constitutional precedent, all of whom have roots in Texas Republican politics.
The ABA received 165 entries in nine categories: books, commentary, documentaries, drama and literature, magazines, multimedia, newspapers, radio, and television. Texas Monthly was the only publication to be awarded in the magazine category this year.
Michael Hall joins esteemed Texas Monthly alumnus Paul Burka in the Silver Gavel Award winner’s circle. Paul won the award in 1981 for his article “The Law West of the Trinity,” which appeared in the March 1980 issue of the magazine.
The 65th Anniversary Silver Gavel Awards Presentation, hosted by ABA president Deborah Enix-Ross, will take place 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 live streamed.
