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 "appeal" ...
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Scapegoat: The Chino Hills Murders and the Framing of Kevin Cooper
Scapegoat is the true story of the horrific Chino Hills murders -- the highest profile crime in San Bernardino County history. It shows how law enforcement ignored eyewitness information implicating three white men as the perpetrators in order to pin the crime on Kevin Cooper, a recently escaped black prisoner from the nearby prison in Chino, California. It shows how his public defender lost the case before the trial even began and how the justice system has failed Cooper at almost every turn. It also shows the heroic work of an international law firm headquartered in San Francisco that adopted Cooper's case pro bono just three months before his scheduled execution in 2004 and won him a stay and how lawyers from this firm continue to appeal his wrongful conviction.
Tags: Murders; crime; law enforcement; police; prison; justice system; wrongful conviction
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Seattle Police:Vanishing Videos
This story began as a relatively simple venture; how to get copies of police dashboard camera videos to provide watchdog oversight of a police department facing growing criticism. It grew into a major expose of questionable police tactics and a battle for public access to critical public records that is currently before the state Supreme Court. Over the course of a year and a half, KOMO TV’s fight for videos and the video database became a game of strategy and attrition as the Seattle Police Department denied us access to public records at every opportunity. We tried every means at our disposal to get these records including direct appeals to elected officials. Finally, with no other recourse, KOMO TV sued the SPD and the city of Seattle. Only then did we make our fight for these records public. What followed in 2012 was a cascade of stories; people coming forward alleging police misconduct and an attempt to hide the videos that would tell the truth. In addition to KOMO TV’s public records lawsuit, our investigation has prompted state legislators and other open records advocates to pursue changes in state law to ensure these records can no longer stay hidden.
Tags: police; camera videos; SPD; Seattle Police Department; public records
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D.C. Tax Office Scandal
The District of Columbia struck an unprecedented number of deals behind closed doors this year with prominent commercial property owners who had appealed their tax assessments, reducing the city's tax base by $2.6 billion. The settlements were kept from the public for months until The Washington Post started mining public records and filing FOIAs, which the city routinely denied until the newspaper's lawyers got involved. The Post also learned that city leaders had kept critical internal audits about the tax office in "draft" format to prevent their release under FOIA. Through sources, The Post obtained the undisclosed reports -- along with a dozen other audits that had been kept from public view -- and published the findings for the first time. The series prompted the City Council to change the law to require the tax office to immediately make public all of its reports -- bringing a new level of transparency to a once secretive agency. The Securities and Exchange Commission also launched a probe to see if the city had kept critical findings from audits used to determine bond ratings. The inquiry is ongoing.
Tags: tax fraud; taxes; taxpayers; tax office
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Army slow to act as crime-lab worker falsified, botched tests
The reporters undertook a year-long inquiry into every facet of the often-opaque military justice system. Through more than two dozen stories, the series closely examined military criminal investigations, lab testing, trials, sentences and appeals.
Tags: military justice system; fabricated results; investigation; falsified tests;
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Honor Tarnished
"This year-long series looks into every facet of the often-opaque military justice system. Through more than two dozen stories, the series closely examined military criminal investigations, lab testing, trials, sentences and appeals."
Tags: military justice system
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"Final Justice
For seven years, the WEWS-TV Investigative Unit researched and reported the case of a Cleveland man, Darrell Houston, who was serving "33 years to life" in prison. By uncovering new witnesses and interviewing past jurors, the investigation by WEWS eventually led to a new trial, the release of Houston and the exoneration of his "murder and robbery charges."
Tags: Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court; Nancy Fuerst; judge; Ohio Court of Appeals; Cleveland Police Department; Nancy Margaret Russo; jury; court
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Menino's Rule
This series explains how Mayor Menino supervised a “building boom that benefited a handful of favored developers and consultants with close ties to him”. Put together, “the six most prolific developers built one out of every four square feet constructed by private developers since 1996”. The mayor violated a pledge not to accept donations by accepting money from these developers, which supported his campaign. Furthermore, he disregarded a city ordinance, which was designed to ensure that these projects benefited city residents.
Tags: Thomas M. Menino; city government; politicians; politics; Zoning Board of Appeals; neighborhood; corruption
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Seeing Red: A Daily Herald Investigation of Red-Light Cameras
This series observes red-light cameras and if they are improving safety or becoming money makers for the government. The series took a closer look at who gets tickets and why, where the revenue goes, how the locations for the cameras are chosen, how to appeal the tickets received, and if they have improved safety conditions. One of the major findings is these cameras are not being installed at intersections with a high accident rates, instead being placed in high traffic areas.
Tags: traffic; tickets; roads; driving; drivers; devices; investigation; Illinois; transportation
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"Guns & Open Records"
After The Commercial Appeal published a list of people living in Tennessee who had a permit to carry a gun, legislative efforts were made in the state to remove that information as public record. The newspaper used the list to reveal the loose regulations of the "permit process."
Tags: guns; right to carry; permit; gun-carry
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The Prosecution of Governor Siegelman
Seven U.S. Attorneys were fired in December 2006 by the Bush Justice Department not because of poor performance, but because of the refusal to engage in politically-driven prosecutions. Former Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman was convicted of bribery and sentence to serve seven years in jail.
Tags: President George W. Bush; Circuit Court of Appeals; imprisonment; allegation; Grant Woods;