The American Judicature Society announces its call for nominations for the Seventh Annual Toni House Journalism Award. The award recognizes outstanding news reporting that enhances public understanding of the courts and/or significantly improves the administration of justice. The deadline for entries is April 1, 2005.

The award is in memory of Toni House, who devoted her career to explaining the workings of the court system to the public—first as a journalist and later as the U.S. Supreme Court’s public information officer. At the time of her death in 1998, she was a member of the AJS Executive Committee.

The competition is open to professional journalists working in print, broadcast, or online media. While entrants will not be eliminated from consideration for a single publication or a series, preference will be given to those who have produced a substantial body of work reflecting a lifetime of contribution to the administration of justice.

Previous recipients of the award include Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio legal affairs correspondent and ABC Nightline correspondent; Marcia Coyle, Washington Bureau Chief of the National Law Journal; Mark Curriden, legal affairs writer for the Dallas Morning News; Lyle Denniston, U.S. Supreme Court and legal affairs correspondent for the Boston Globe; Mark Houser, reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; and Robert Schwaneberg, legal writer for the Newark Star Ledger.

To download a copy of the official call for entries brochure, click here. Nominations should be postmarked by April 1, 2005 and addressed to the American Judicature Society, Attention Toni House Award Selection Panel, 2700 University Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50311.