The Beccaria Award Presentation and Reception will be held at City Hall in the Mayor's Reception Room on November 12, 2008 at 5:30 p.m.

The Justinian Society and the Criminal Justice Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association will host the 14th Annual Beccaria Award Ceremony honoring the Honorable Anthony J. DeFino, retired.

The Beccaria Award represents the highest honor that the Justinian Society in cooperation with Criminal Justice Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association can give to any member of the Bar, whether or not a member of the either Section, who exemplifies the ideals of the career of Cesare Beccaria.  Beccaria was an 18th century Italian scholar whose writings presaged the dawn of the modern penal system. This year’s award recognizes Judge DeFino's distinguished achievement in the field of in the field of criminal justice.