The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Family Courts" ...
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The Deadliest Place in Mexico
The Juarez Valley, a narrow corridor of green farmland carved from the Chihuahuan desert along the Rio Grande, was once known for its cotton, which rivaled Egypt’s. But that was before the Juarez cartel moved in to set up a lucrative drug smuggling trade. “The Deadliest Place in Mexico” explores untold aspects of Mexico’s drug war as it has played out in the small farming communities of this valley. The violence began in 2008, when the Sinaloa cartel moved in to take over the Juarez cartel’s turf. The Mexican government sent in the military to quell the violence — but instead the murder rate exploded. While the bloodshed in the nearby City of Juarez attracted widespread media attention, the violence spilling into the rural Juarez Valley received far less, eve as the killings began to escalate in brutal ways. Community advocates, elected officials, even police officers were shot down in the streets. Several residents were stabbed in the face with ice picks. By 2009, the valley, with a population of 20,000, had a murder rate six times higher than Juarez itself. Newspapers began to call the rural farming region the “Valley of Death.” This investigation uses extensive Freedom of Information Act requests, court documents, and difficult-to-obtain interviews in Spanish and English with current and former Juarez Valley residents, Mexican officials, narcotraffickers and U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials, to reveal that many of these shocking deaths were perpetrated with the participation of Mexican authorities. It shows scenes of devastation — households where six members of a single family were killed, without a single police investigation. It uncovers targeted killings by masked gunmen of community activists and innocent residents for speaking out against violence and repression facilitated by corrupt military and government officials. And it gathers multiple witnesses who describe soldiers themselves, working in league with the Sinaloa cartel, perpetrating violence against civilians. "The cemeteries are all full. There isn't anywhere left to bury the bodies," one former resident said. "You'll find nothing there but ghost towns and soldiers."
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World’s Untold Stories: Secrets of the Belfast Project
Forty years ago, during the height of Northern Ireland’s sectarian violence known as "The Troubles," a widowed mother with 10 children disappeared. Today, the answers to what happened could be found in audio recordings locked away in a U.S. college archive. But some don’t want the truth to come out. The audio recordings were collected for the Boston College Oral History Archives, from members of groups on both sides of the fighting. But this history project may contain evidence, that could threaten a delicate peace agreement – and the man credited with helping bring that peace to Northern Ireland, Gerry Adams. Adams, a prominent Irish politician and alleged former head of the Irish Republican Army, has vigorously denied the allegations. But many think the tapes could hold the key to solving the widowed mother’s murder – and more. In this episode of CNN’s documentary series “World’s Untold Stories”, Nic Robertson examines the risks and the benefits of exposing what truths may be on the tapes – and explains the ongoing battle between families, politicians, the courts, and academia, who are either seeking the truth, or seeking to protect it.
Tags: Northern Ireland; Boston College; Gerry Adams; politicians; courts; academia
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Right to Die
9News questioned the decisions of a small town sheriff who refused to help a family remove their 91-year-old father after he had locked himself into his home. The man was suffering from potential dementia, dehydration, and malnourishment. The family thought the man would die if he did not recieve medical attention and convinced a judge he should issue an order requiring he be hospitalized. The sheriff argued the man had the "right to die" if he wanted to and upheld the court order.
Tags: Right to Die
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"Breaking Down Bond Court"
In Cook Country, very little attention is given to bond hearings. However, the hearings can have a major impact on the defendant's life and "have ripple effects for taxpayers and communities." In this story, reporters Tony Arnold and Cate Cahan reveal "rushed hearings," the errors that occur and the "drastic consequences" they have for the defendants and their families.
Tags: bond; bail; Cook County; Chicago; judge; electronic monitoring; lawsuit
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"Greed v. Guardianship"
This investigation reveals serious flaws in the Maricopa County Probate Court. Families have complained of being "violated" by their court appointed guardian, which was most often the Sun Valley Group. Families accused SVG of taking control of their finances, selling anything of value and keeping the money. Some were even kept from visiting sick loved ones who had been placed in care facilities.
Tags: Sun Valley Group; probate court; Maricopa County; Arizona Supreme Court; public records; court documents; guardianship
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Domestic Abuse Inside the U.S. Military
Domestic violence acts in the Army have been “steadily rising over the last decade, despite Army reports to the contrary”. Many Army spouses’ slain as a result of the domestic violence and many involving soldiers who saw action in Iraq. Also, a level of violence was soaring around some of the largest Army installations “through examination of police records and court filings”.
Tags: Congressional; Pentagon; weapons; FOIA; Fort Hood; Army Rangers; families; abuse; bureaucracy; advocates; mental health
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Left for Dead
A woman who “allegedly hoarded and killed more than a dozen dogs at her animal rescue” was never convicted for the crime. Her court date was postponed for a number of times and now she can’t be found as she runs from the law. Many people donated money to her rescue initiative and families donated their pets for her to find good homes for, but later found out about their help was a waste.
Tags: Eastern Iowa; Waggin' Tails; Michele Kintzer; sheriff; law enforcement; police; state officials; Hardin County; evidence
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Broken Families, Broken Court
The series exposed systemic problems in the operation of California Juvenile Dependency Courts, the nation's largest court system overseeing children in foster care.
Tags: child welfare; California Juvenile Dependency Courts; foster care; court; juvenile; parent; children; reunification
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The Grim Sleeper
Pelisek's story details a secret the Los Angeles police were shielding from the public: "that a serial murderer had begun killing Angelenos since 1985, taking a 13-year hiatus before recently resuming his bloody assaults almost exclusively in a poor, black sector of the city." DNA evidence linked a single killer to several murders of mostly young women, drug users and prostitutes. It was Pelisek that informed families of some of the victims that their daughters' murder was the work of a serial killer.
Tags: police; serial killer; Los Angeles; body dump; murder; cold case; public records; police documents; court documents
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Homicide 37
Of the 179 homicides in New Orleans during 2007, the Times-Picayune explored the city's high murder rate through the thirty seventh murder of the year. The story examines the failed justice system from the perspectives of the detectives, the suspect and the family of the victim.
Tags: Lance Zarders; juvenile court; Anthony Pardo; teenager; NOPD; St. Roch; Ak-47; lineup