LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — Law Week Colorado, the state’s weekly newspaper for lawyers, general counsels and judges, has won 14 awards — including those in every legal news category in its circulation class — in the Society of Professional Journalists’ four-state “Top of the Rockies” contest.
The contest pitted news organizations in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. A reception honoring the winners is Friday at the Denver Press Club.
In its class of 10,000-circulation newspapers and below, Law Week Colorado won first, second and third places in the categories of legal investigative/enterprise reporting, legal general reporting and legal feature reporting.
The newspaper also picked up first-place awards for arts and entertainment reporting and feature photography, second-place awards for multimedia story and news feature, and a third place award for public service.
“Colorado’s legal community already knows that Law Week is a home for great storytelling, and the broader community of journalists is finding that out, too,” said Rebecca Askew, publisher of the newspaper and the chief executive of its parent company, Circuit Media LLC. “We’re thrilled to receive so many awards in a single competition.”
Winning first-place awards:
* Staff writer Ali McNally, legal feature reporting, for “Home of the Brave,” a story about the plight of 2,100 known refugees in Colorado from the southeast Asian country of Burma struggling to assimilate in the U.S
* Photographer Jamie Cotten and designer Matthew Meier, feature photography, also for “Home of the Brave.”
* Staff writer Matt Masich, legal general reporting, for “Prosecutors Can’t Use Word ‘Lies’ To Describe Lies.” The story concerned Colorado appellate courts reversing felony convictions because a prosecutor said the word “lie.”
* Former intern Jon Easley, legal investigative/enterprise reporting, for “So Hard To Say Goodbye,” the account of a young lawyer who simultaneously worked for two Denver law firms without the other firm’s knowledge.
* Masich, arts and entertainment reporting, for “Supreme Court Leaves Mural Hanging,” a story about a massive state-owned mural that was destroyed after the state judiciary became aware of its high asbestos content. The mural was attached to the high court’s former home, which was razed and is being rebuilt.
Second place awards went to:
* Masich, news feature reporting, for “A Tale of Two Lawyers,” the story of a bicyclist-lawyer who was struck and nearly killed after being hit by a vehicle driven by another lawyer.
* McNally, legal general reporting, for “A Question of IQ,” a story about the legal ramifications of a developmentally “delayed” woman who underwent a tubal ligation.
* Masich, legal feature reporting, for “Road to Redemption,” a story of two lawyers, one suspended and one disbarred, who succeeded in returning to the practice of law.
* Masich, legal investigative/enterprise reporting, for “Mullarkey’s Out, Who’s In?” (Part 1 & Part 2). This series of stories detailed the race to succeed Colorado’s longest-serving chief justice, Mary Mullarkey.
* Cotten and Masich, multimedia story, for “Denver Justice Center: A Tour.” This video presentation took a behind-the-scenes look at Denver’s new jail and criminal courthouse complex.
The third place awards went to:
* McNally, legal general reporting, for “No Body, No Murder,” the story of a man charged in a Greeley murder for which no body was recovered.
* Masich, legal feature reporting, for “Right to Remain Frozen,” the story of a legal dispute over a deceased woman’s wish to have her head cryogenically preserved.
* McNally, legal investigative/enterprise reporting, for “Cortez Controversy,” the story of a judge’s controversial order requiring that a convicted murder be brought to court using any legal means to face the victim’s family.
* Masich and editor Don Knox, public service, for “Making a Case: With Retention Effort Afoot, Who Speaks For Justices?” These stories detailed issues raised during a non-retention campaign against four Colorado Supreme Court justices.
Law Week Colorado, based in Denver, was founded in 2002 to serve the state’s legal community following the closure of The Colorado Journal.
