CalMatters’ Anat Rubin honored for journalistic integrity by the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice

CalMatters investigative reporter Anat Rubin has won the Journalistic Integrity Award from the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.

Each year, the organization only presents this award if they believe a journalist’s work “helped to further the public’s understanding of the criminal justice system and the rights to due process and equal protection.”

The honor is for Rubin’s reporting, including most notably her investigation, “The Man Who Unsolved a Murder.” The project found that poor people accused of crimes, who account for at least 80% of criminal defendants, are routinely convicted in California without anyone investigating the charges against them. Close to half of California’s 58 counties do not employ any full-time public defense investigators. Among the remaining counties, defendants’ access to investigators fluctuates wildly, but it’s almost always inadequate.

As a companion to her main investigation, Rubin also published a piece summarizing the key takeaways from her investigation: “California is failing to provide a vital safeguard against wrongful convictions.”

“Through rigorous investigation and compelling storytelling, she has brought national attention to the urgent need for reform in public defense. Rubin’s work exemplifies the highest standards of journalistic integrity and advances public understanding of justice, due process, and equal protection,” wrote the organization’s board of directors.

Rubin will be presented the award at the organization’s December banquet.