EIGHTH ANNUAL JUSTICIA AWARDS PRESENTED FOR LEGAL REPORTING

CALGARY, August 10, 2007 – The Canadian Press and filmmaker John Kastner's CTV documentary are the winners of the eighth annual Justicia Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

The Justicia Awards are sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Department of Justice Canada. The Awards recognize outstanding journalism that fosters public awareness and understanding of any aspect of the Canadian justice system and the roles played by institutions and participants in the legal system.

Special certificates of merit were also awarded by the independent panel of judges to Tracey Tyler of the Toronto Star and a team of reporters from Le Devoir.

The winners will be honoured at a ceremony tomorrow, August 11, at the Canadian Bar Association's annual conference in Calgary.

Broadcast

Filmmaker John Kastner is the winner in the broadcast category for his documentary “Monster in the Family” which aired on CTV in June 2006. The controversial film examined the case of notorious criminal Martin Ferrier on the eve of his release from prison and showed how an offender, despite having a relatively minor violent record, can easily be portrayed as a monster by an unquestioning media and public. The Justicia jury praised the documentary as “a fascinating story that is powerful and titillating, with direct interviews, excellent inserts, strong writing and superb production values.”

Print

Sue Bailey and Jim Bronskill of The Canadian Press were the winners in the print category for their five-part series "Shackled Minds: Criminalizing the Mentally Ill." The November 2006 series examined the dilemma of a swelling population of mentally ill inmates in prisons across Canada, based on interviews with social and medical workers, correctional staff, police, wardens and senior judges including Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. The award judges called the series “a fascinating look at the interplay of mental illness in our society and the struggle of the justice system to deal with these people when they come before the court. The well-written series provided a broad based look at how the issue affects police, the courts, corrections and the mentally ill.”

The judges also awarded certificates of merit to:

• Tracey Tyler of the Toronto Star for her series “Access to Justice,” published in March and April 2007. The stories looked at the issue from the perspective of Canadians navigating and working in the justice system, examining the true costs of a trial, the anguish of unrepresented litigants and the deeply-held concerns of lawyers and judges. The Justicia jury said “t his was an excellent look at a very important topic affecting more of society than the criminal process. There is a crisis in civil litigation that affects all citizens' access to justice and the issue is not often discussed.”
• Hélène Buzzetti, Alec Castonguay and Manon Cornellier of Le Devoir for their series of articles to mark the 25 th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The nine stories examined how the Charter has remodeled the face of Canada and become an uncontested reference to understand Canadian identity. The judges said the series “offered not only an in-depth retrospective of the 25 years of the Charter, but also looked at the subject from a new and fresh angle, exploring both the successes and failures.”

Last year's winners were Société Radio Canada's Enjeux and Peter McKnight of the Vancouver Sun.

The entries were judged by Mr. Justice Sean Dunnigan of the Provincial Court of Alberta, Montreal lawyer Michèle Gamache and Lisa Taylor, a Halifax lawyer, journalist and journalism instructor.

The criteria for judging entries are accuracy, effectiveness in explaining legal issues to the public, informational value, insight and originality. This year's awards cover stories that were published or broadcast between May 16, 2006 and May 15, 2007.

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Ref.:
Hannah Bernstein
Canadian Bar Association
Aug. 10-14, Telus Convention Centre, Room Glen 208, 403-218-7856;

E-mail: hannahb@cba.org .