Contributing Correspondent
Tim O’Brien is an attorney and an award-winning journalist whose achievements include covering the U.S. Supreme Court for ABC News for more than 22 years. He is a recognized expert on the court, its justices, and the development of a generation of constitutional law. Following his tenure at ABC News, O’Brien served as the principal Washington correspondent for CNN’s Moneyline, the network’s flagship business program (2001-2003). O’Brien has also been named Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans (2005), Hofstra University School of Law in New York (2000), St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami (2001) and the Nova Southeastern University School of Law in Ft. Lauderdale (1999, 2002, 2004 and 2008.)
O’Brien’s reporting has received the highest accolades of both the legal and journalism professions. The National Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded O’Brien an Emmy for his contributions to CNN’s coverage of the September 11 terrorism attacks. His television documentaries on the criminal justice system received the American Bar Association’s highest award, the Silver Gavel, as well as the Alfred I. duPont Award for excellence in journalism. O’Brien has been a contributing correspondent for RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY since 2001. His report on “DNA and Fair Trials,” which explores the legal and ethical implications of post-conviction DNA exonerations, was awarded the CINE Golden Eagle, and his report on “Georgia Sex Offender Law” was honored with the Silver Screen Award from the U.S. International Film and Video Festival.
O’Brien is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the U.S. Active in the Washington legal community, he is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a former director of the American Judicature Society and a current board member of the National Legal Center for the Public Interest. A frequent lecturer on the Supreme Court and legal issues, he was the keynote speaker at the D.C. Judicial Circuit Conference at Williamsburg, Virginia in 2002.
