THE MARSHALL PROJECT ANNOUNCES THE LOUIS LOWENSTEIN CRIMINAL JUSTICE JOURNALISM AWARD

The Marshall Project is pleased to announce the creation of the first annual Louis Lowenstein Criminal Justice Journalism Award. The $5000 prize will go to the journalist whose body of work about criminal justice in 2015 best exemplifies the values of the late Columbia University School of Law Professor Louis Lowenstein - excellence, intellectual rigor and compassion.

CRITERIA

· The candidate must be employed in the field of journalism.

· Work can be submitted from print, digital, multimedia and broadcast outlets.

· The work must focus on criminal justice in the United States and can encompass policing, courts, rehabilitation, mental health, jails and prisons, immigration, juvenile justice, immigration among others.

· The work must have been published in 2015.

· No more than five separate pieces may be submitted.

TIMELINE

· March 1: Deadline for nominations for inaugural prize. Work must be submitted as either a printed package or as pdfs. A cover letter must accompany each submission giving an overview of the work, an author biography, and an explanation of the impact generated by the reporting.

· Submissions should be emailed to rbaldwin@themarshallproject.org

· A decision will announced at the end of March, 2016.

AWARD CEREMONY AND PUBLIC EVENT

· The prize will be awarded at an invitation-only event that will be held in New York City in April.

· The winner will also be asked to participate in a public event that relates to the subject of their work that will also take place in New York City in 2016.

ABOUT LOUIS LOWENSTEIN (1925-2009)

Louis Lowenstein was an American securities lawyer, and later law professor, as well as a vocal advocate on behalf of society’s needy. He served for many years as chairman of the Coalition for the Homeless. Lou was devoted to the law and to its role in insuring a just and democratic society. He was a lifelong advocate of civil liberties. After leaving private practice for the Columbia University School of Law, where he was Simon. H. Rifkin Professor of Finance and Law, he became a noted critic of Wall Street excess, and the author of several respected books, including What's Wrong With Wall Street and The Investor’s Dilemma.

ABOUT THE MARSHALL PROJECT

The Marshall Project is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on the American criminal justice system. Our mission is to create and sustain a sense of urgency about criminal justice reform in America. We do this through investigations, narratives, and profiles that put a human face on criminal justice, explanatory and contextual pieces, along with guest commentary and voices from inside the system. And we partner with a diverse array of media organizations to amplify our message.

For more information and to submit entries, please contact Ruth Baldwin, rbaldwin@themarshallproject.org or 212-803-5270.