Our condolences to the family of C. Boyden Gray on his passing. He was a friend to the conservative legal movement and a defender of the rule of law. Ambassador Boyden Gray spoke at the RNLA National Policy Conference often, most recently in 2021. But we remember him best as the 2008 recipient of the Hon. Edwin Meese III Award and for giving the keynote address at our 2008 National Policy Conference. (Pictured below with fellow Meese Award winner Dick Wiley.)

During the 2022 National Policy Conference, RNLA presented the Junior Senator from Arkansas, Tom Cotton, with this year's Hon. Edwin Meese III Award, which is bestowed upon an individual who has upheld the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges.

The Republican National Lawyers Association is excited to announce that Senator Tom Cotton is the recipient of the 2022 Hon. Edwin Meese III Award, which is bestowed upon an individual who has upheld the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges. The award will be presented at RNLA's 2022 National Policy Conference in Arlington, Virginia. RNLA Executive Director Michael Thielen stated:

This award was meant for those who stand up to the slings and arrows of false accusations from liberals such as The New York Times. Cotton has not only stood up, he has been proven right time and time again.

Senator Cotton was one of the first to talk about the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Chinese lab, and the media crucified him. Yet as time passed, reality backed Senator Cotton's warnings.

David Bowsher (2017 RNLA VP for Programming & 2017 NPC Master of Ceremonies), White House Counsel Don McGahn (2017 Ed Meese Award Recipient), Former Attorney General Ed Meese, and Manuel Iglesias (RNLA Chair)

Today, the Honorable Edwin Meese III, 75th United States Attorney General, was honored by President Donald Trump with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House. 

The RNLA is pleased to announce that the 2019 Ed Meese Award, named after the 65th United States Attorney General, will be given to Senator Lindsey Graham in recognition of his career as an individual who has upheld the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges.