Bar bestows awards for good legal journalism.

The Florida Bar has selected three media organizations as grand prize winners in the 48th Annual Media Awards competition. Four media organizations were also selected as honorable mentions.

This year's grand prize winners are the Tallahassee Democrat (newspapers and other periodicals with circulation over 50,000), Florida Medical Business of North Miami (newspapers and other periodicals with circulation under 50,000), and WFLA-TV of Tampa (television). Honorable mentions are awarded to The Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel, Pensacola News Journal, and WUSF 89.7 News of Tampa.

The Tallahassee Democrat's winning entry was an eight-part series titled "Justice for All?" The submission was a comprehensive examination of why justice is slow in Leon County, with hundreds of felony cases unresolved, often long past the state's 180-day recommended deadline for completion. The investigation showed that all of the players were guilty of slowing down the system. During the investigation, the Democrat interviewed private lawyers, prosecutors, public defenders, judges, crime victims, defendants, legislators, court administrators, and trial court administration experts. The series required a vast amount of work for a relatively small daily newspaper.

Florida Medical Business is the grand prize winner in the category for newspapers and other periodicals with circulation less than 50,000. Florida Medical Business submitted an article that was a comprehensive examination of The Florida Neurological Injury Compensation Association (NICA), a quasi-state agency. The article offered irrefutable proof of the association's failure in its stated goal to provide a no-fault system of financial assistance to babies who suffer brain damage at birth.

WFLA-TV is the grand prize winner in the television category. WFLA-TV submitted "Drunks Driving," an investigation which found that in Hillsborough County, repeat DUI offenders were treated as first time offenders because a computer programmed to identify repeat offenders failed to do so. WFLA-TV also reported on ajudge who threw out crucial evidence at DUI hearings, compelling the state attorney's office to appeal several of his decisions. As. a result of the investigation, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office upgraded its computer software program so repeat offenders in DUI cases can be identified.

The Miami Herald was selected as an honorable mention after submitting two pieces. One submission covered the citrus canker war that ensued when the state set out to rid Florida of canker. The second submission was a series of investigative articles that revisited the 1990 murder of Broward sheriff's Deputy Patrick Behan.

The Orlando Sentinel submitted two pieces. The first submission covered the state's failure to control dangerous criminals under house arrest. The other submission reported on a case of law enforcement officials failing to heed warnings of terrorism in New York City prior to the September 11,2001, attacks.

The Pensacola News Journal submitted three pieces. One News Journal submission reported on the King brothers murder case. Another submission covered the case of Rev. Thomas Crandall, who was charged by federal authorities with transporting drugs from his Bourbon Street condominium in New Orleans back to Northwest Florida. The final submission was a series of articles about the corruption on the Escambia County Commission.

WUSF 89.7 News, which received an honorable mention in the radio category, submitted three entries. One story detailed the plan to empower local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law. A second submission outlined the proposal to enshrine the death penalty in the Florida Constitution. The third submission was a series of interviews with all seven of the candidates for Florida attorney general before the primary election.

This year's judges were Christopher G Blake, director of communications at the Connecticut Bar Association; Ken Elmore, news director for WSPA-TV in Spartanburg, S.C.; Dr. Edward G. Weston, associate professor for the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida; and attorneys AnnetteEscobar, of Astigarraga Davis Mullins & Grossman, and Laura L. Jacobs.