Section awards are presented during the APSA annual meeting awards ceremony. To learn more about any award listed, contact the award committee chair for the award.

All section 02. Law and Courts awards to-date »

Law and Courts Best Conference Paper Award

The Law and Courts Best Conference Paper Award (formerly the American Judicature Society Award) is given annually for the best paper on law and courts presented at the previous year’s annual meetings of the American, International, or regional political science associations. Single- and co-authored papers, written by political scientists, are eligible. Papers may be nominated by any member of the Section. Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Logan Strother (Chair)	Purdue University	lstrothe@purdue.edu
EmiLee Smart	Northern Arizona University	emilee.smart@nau.edu
Siv Cherevu	Michigan State University	cheruvus@msu.edu
Taneisha Means	Vassar College	tmeans@vassar.edu

Law and Courts Best Graduate Student Paper

This award (formerly the CQ Press Award) is given annually for the best paper in the field of law and courts written by a graduate student. To be eligible, the nominated paper must have been written by a full-time graduate student. Single- and co-authored papers are eligible. In the case of co-authored papers, each author must have been a full-time graduate student at the time the paper was written. Submitted papers may have been written for any purpose (including papers written for seminar, scholarly meetings, and for potential publication in academic journals). This is NOT, however, a dissertation or thesis prize. Papers may be nominated by faculty members or by the students themselves. The papers must have been written during the twelve months previous to the nomination deadline. Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Shane Gleason (Chair)	Trinity College	shane.gleason@trincoll.edu
Jake Truscott	University of Florida	jaketruscott@ufl.edu
Michael Catalano	University of Scranton	michael.catalano@scranton.edu
Elizabeth Lane	North Carolina State University	elane3@ncsu.edu

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Best Journal Article Award

This award recognizes the best journal article in the field of law and courts written by a political scientist and published during the previous calendar year. Pre-prints published in the previous calendar year are also eligible, but no article may be nominated in more than one year. The committee chair each year will forward a list of nominated articles to the next year’s committee chair to avoid accidental re-nomination of the same article. Articles published in all refereed journals and in law reviews are eligible, but book reviews, review essays, and chapters published in edited volumes are not eligible. Journal editors and members of the section may nominate articles. (This award was previously known as McGraw Hill Award and as the Houghton-Mifflin Award for the Best Journal Article in the Field of Law and Courts). Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Toddy Curry (Chair)	University of Texas at El Paso	tacurry@UTEP.edu
Marcy Shieh	Miami University	shiehm@miamioh.edu
Alison Merrill	Susquehanna University	merrill@susqu.edu
Kirsten Widner	University of Tennessee	kwidner1@utk.edu

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C. Herman Pritchett Award

The C. Herman Pritchett award is given annually for the best book on law and courts written by a political scientist and published the previous year. Please note that case books and edited books are not eligible for consideration. Books may be nominated by publishers or by members of the Section. Deadline for Nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email & Mailing Address
Joe Ross	Florida Gulf Coast University	jvross@fgcu.edu Merwin Hall 10501 FGCU Blvd South Fort Myers, FL 33965
Tracy Lightcap	LaGrange University (Emeritus)	tlightcap@lagrange.edu 2919 Orchard Knob Dr. SE Atlanta, GA 30339
Brett Curry	Georgia Southern University	bcurry@georgiasouthern.edu 6407 Marissa Ct Statesboro, GA 30461

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Law and Courts Lifetime Achievement Award

Given for a lifetime of significant scholarship, teaching and service to the Law and Courts field. Nominees must be political scientists who are at least 65 years of age or who have been active in the field for at least 25 years. Nominations from previous competitions will be carried forward to the current year’s competition. The committee will retain nominations for 3 years, but you are invited to re-nominate an individual and renew the materials in the file during each cycle. Nominations may be made by any member of the Section and should consist of a statement outlining the contributions of the nominee and, if possible, a copy of the nominee’s vitae.  Deadline for Nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Tim Johnson (Chair)	University of Minnesota	trj@umn.edu
Meghan Leonard	Illinois State University	mleonar@ilstu.edu
Justin Wedeking	University of Kentucky	justin.wedeking@uky.edu
Rachel Houston	Texas Christian University	R.HOUSTON@tcu.edu

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Law and Courts Lasting Contribution Award

Awarded annually to a book or journal article, 10 years old or older, that has made a lasting impression on the field of law and courts. Only books and articles written by political scientists are eligible; single-authored works produced by winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award are not eligible. Any member of the Section may submit a nomination. The nomination should include a statement outlining the nature of the contribution of the nominated work. Deadline for Nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Paul Collins (Chair)	University of Massachusetts Amherst	pmcollins@legal.umass.edu
Michael Romano	Shenandoah University	mromano@su.edu
Natalie Rogol	Rhode Island College	nrogol@ric.edu
Andrew Stone	University of Mississippi	arstone@olemiss.edu

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Law and Courts Service Award

The Law and Courts Service Award recognizes service to the section in the literal sense, as in service on committees and in leadership positions, as well as service within the Section, as in service to the profession within the field of law and courts in the form of archiving data, promoting infrastructure, representing the profession in the media, etc.  Deadline for Nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Lori Hausseger (Chair)	Boise State University	lorihausegger@boisestate.edu
David Glick	Boston University	DMGlick@bu.edu
Jonathon King	University of Georgia	jonathon.king@uga.edu
Taraleigh Davis	Bradley University	tdavis4@fsmail.bradley.edu

Journal of Law and Courts Article Award

This award recognizes the best journal article published in the Journal of Law and Courts during the previous calendar year. All articles published in that year will be eligible for the award, with the exception of an article that wins or has won the Best Journal Article Award. The award winner will receive a cash prize of $500.  Deadline for Nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Ali Masood (Chair)	Oberlin University	amasood@oberlin.edu
Ethan Boldt	University of Massachusetts Boston	Ethan.Boldt@umb.edu
Bill Myers	University of Tampa	wmyers@ut.edu

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Law and Courts Teaching Award

This award recognizes excellence in instruction and enhancing student learning in law and courts.  Examples that might be recognized by this award include (but are not limited to) pedagogical innovation in undergraduate or graduate teaching, directing experiential learning or community-based learning opportunities, and developing new courses or academic programs. Any one of these examples could be sufficient basis for receiving the award. Any member of the section may make a nomination for the Teaching Award by submitting a statement identifying the nominee and outlining the nature of the innovation and contribution made to achieving the purposes of the award (e-mail attachments, in the form of .pdf files, are acceptable). (This award was previously known as the Teaching and Mentoring Award). Deadline for Nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Kathleen Bratton (Chair)	Louisiana State University	bratton@lsu.edu
Christine Bird	Oklahoma State University	christine.bird@okstate.edu
Reid Krell	California State University, Northridge	matthew.krell@csun.edu
Elisha Savchak-Trogdon	Elon University	esavchaktrogdon@elon.edu

Student Mentoring Award

This award recognizes excellence in student mentoring in both formal and informal roles. Examples that might be recognized by this award include (but are not limited to) prelaw advising, supporting undergraduate research outside the classroom, directing dissertation and master’s theses, directing undergraduate theses, co-authoring with students, mentoring graduate student teaching, mentoring students with respect to post-graduate professional careers, assisting with national fellowships and award nominations, and continued mentoring of former students. Any one of these examples could be sufficient basis for receiving the award. Any member of the section may make a nomination for the Student Mentoring Award by submitting a statement identifying the nominee and outlining the nature of the innovation and contribution made to achieving the purposes of the award (e-mail attachments, in the form of .pdf files, are acceptable). (This award was previously known as the Teaching and Mentoring Award). Deadline for Nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Kathleen Bratton (Chair)	Louisiana State University	bratton@lsu.edu
Christine Bird	Oklahoma State University	christine.bird@okstate.edu
Reid Krell	California State University, Northridge	matthew.krell@csun.edu
Elisha Savchak-Trogdon	Elon University	esavchaktrogdon@elon.edu