
On April 14, 2011 TCP honored Judge Patricia McGowan Wald with the 2011 Constitutional Champion Award. The event was held at the Jones Day law firm in Washington D.C. and the audience represented a Who’s Who of the legal, judicial, and policy communities. The program highlighted Judge Wald’s decades of public service including her work on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia—the first woman ever appointed to the bench—and her service on the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Following TCP President Virginia Sloan’s opening remarks one of Judge Wald’s former clerks, Stanford Law Professor Lawrence C. Marshall, lauded her as an exceptional mentor and teacher. A commemorative video featuring Wald’s family, friends and colleagues, was also played. Judge Wald closed the program with an acceptance speech that brought the audience of nearly 300 to its feet. Guest Dan Froomkin, a reporter with the Huffington Post, showcased Judge Wald’s remarks in a piece on NiemanWatchdog.org.