DETROIT - July 7, 2011 - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan announced today that the State Bar of Michigan has named Executive Director Kary L. Moss a 2011 Champion of Justice award recipient. Moss is among only seven practicing lawyers or judges, including Jacqueline Doig, Barry L. Howard, Monica Nuckolls, Edward H. Pappas, Rebecca Shiemke and Judge M.T. Thompson Jr., recognized this year for integrity, superior professional competence and outstanding accomplishments in their communities.

"I'm truly honored to receive this award and hope to continue to exemplify its values of fairness, equality and justice for all," said Moss.

Moss has served as the Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan since 1998 and has spearheaded tremendous growth in the organization. In addition to leading two effective capital and operating campaigns, she oversees the organization's programs that have included high-impact and important civil rights cases, such as the country's first challenge to the government's effort to close immigration court hearings to the public and warrantless wiretapping by theNational Security Administration.  She also serves as the president of the ACLU's Executive Director Council, representing all state directors in the ACLU.

She holds a master's in international affairs from Columbia University and a JD from CUNY Law School at Queen's College.  Prior to joining the ACLU of Michigan, she clerked at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then served as staff attorney with the ACLU in New York.  Moss is a member of the Advisory Board of The Detroit News Editorial Page and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and has served on the boards of Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust, Citizens United, Michigan Coalition for Justice, and the Ecology Center.

Moss will be officially honored at the State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting Awards Banquet on Wed., Sept. 14, 2011, at the Dearborn Hyatt.

Past recipients of the prestigious annual award, established in 1987, include Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Denise Langford Morris, Thomas M. Cooley Law School Associate Dean John Nussbaumer, U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith, and Wayne State University law professor and author Janet E. Findlater.
About the ACLU of Michigan

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is our state's guardian of liberty, working daily in the courts, legislature and communities to defend the Bill of Rights and U.S. Constitution. For more information, visit www.aclumich.org