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 "district court" ...
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The Cash Machine
An investigation reveals that the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office seizes millions every year in small amounts of cash seized from individuals stopped by police— but not necessarily arrested, and often never convicted of a crime. Through the use of "civil asset forfeiture," the Philadelphia D.A. has created a kind of forfeiture assembly line, pursuing cases for small amounts of cash by the thousands via a system which proceeds without regard to guilt or innocence and which places a tremendous burden of proof on the property owner. This investigation is one of the first quantitative looks into a big-city forfeiture operation and includes statistics compiled from reviews of thousands of court records as well as data compiled by hand.
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Failing our Athletes: The Sad State of Sports in Boston Public Schools
This series examined the state of athletics in the Boston public school district. The amount of problems discovered was both shocking and disappointing. Some of the discovered problems were the program was “underfunded compared to cities of similar size, staffing problems, poor facilities, safety of the athletes, and competency of many coaches”.
Tags: children; kids; sports; games; education; student-athletes; court; field; season; players; uniforms; city government
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Officer Absent, Case Dismissed
Many defendants facing felony charges were set free in 2007 because police officers, who arrested them, never showed up for court. Further, these defendants already had long criminal records and after being released were later arrested for other crimes. In some instances, cases were postponed when officers did not show up for court, instead of having the case dismissed. No matter if the case is postponed or dismissed it wastes the time of judges, lawyers, defendants, and the public’s money.
Tags: law enforcement; Louisville Metro Police Department; Jefferson District Court; absences; county attorney
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Deconstructing Gus
"Deconstructing Gus" chronicles an opposition campaign's fight to block the nomination of Gus Puryear to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Gus Puryear was general counsel to America's largest for-profit prison company. Major findings of the article expose Puryear's conflicts of interest, lack of qualifications, and shady ties which ultimately prevented his nomination.
Tags: Corrections Corporation of America; Gus Puryear; Prison Legal News; nomination; District Court; Tennessee; Alex Friedman; opposition campaign
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Above the Law
"Despite that no one wanted this information revealed, our stories document a disturbing pattern of abuse of power, ethical misconduct and corruption by the Chief Federal Judge of the U.S. District Court of Colorado."
Tags: witness tampering; perjury; U.S. district court; Colorado; judge; abuse of power; corruption; misconduct; ethics; FOIA
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Snitch
"Snitch" told the story of a terrified grandmother from a housing project who witnessed a murder and reporter it anonymously, only to be coerced into testifying in court and then forced into a witness relocation program. The story also revealed the strong-arm tactics of a crime-laden city's homicide unite and district attorney's office which failed to provide accommodations for the relocated witness's pet dog, who was eventually euthanized. The story also described the realities of living in San Francisco's worst housing project, where murder is common and named witnesses are almost unheard of.
Tags: murder; witness; coercion; witness protection program; legal system
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Money Trails to the Federal Branch
At least two dozen of the 249 federal judges appointed in 2001 by George W. Bush have given money to Republicans while the judges were under consideration for a lifetime appointment on the bench. More than $44,000 was given by the 18 district court judges and the six appellate judges.
Tags: American Bar Association; campaign contribution; Deborah Cook; Bob Taft; John R. Adams; Tomas M. Hardiman; John E. Jones; George W. Bush; Republicans
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Costly Lessons: Do We Get What We Pay For? An Analysis of Edicational Funding and Effectiveness in New Jersey.
"In New Jersey's court-ordered experiment to improve education for more than 300,000 students in the state's poorest school districs, taxpayers are learning an expensive lesson: Spending more money does not necessarily produce smarter kids." New Jersey has spent almost $27 million in the last decade to raise public school funding, but the extra money has not had an effect on standardized tests in middle schools and high schools. This series of articles examines how the money is spent, why there is no apparent difference and how people feel about so much of their tax money being spent on a program with no results.
Tags: school; education; property taxes; school districts; standardized test; SAT; ACT; Abbot district
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Show and Tell Tape #1
2004 IRE National Conference (Atlanta) Show and Tell Tape #1 features the following stories: 1)Phil Williams (WTVF-Nashville) A hidden camera investigation proves that special interest lobbyists are buying Tennessee lawmakers. 2)Stephen Stock (WESH-Orlando) An investigation into new home inspections found inspectors conducting too many inspections daily with a passing rate as high as 99 percent in one county. 3)Anna Werner and David Raziq (KHOU-Houston) Children as young as 11-years-old were being physically abused at the juvenile probation department in Harris County, Texas. 4)Tony Pipitone (WKMG-Orlando)The Brevard School District in Orlando requested additional funding from the federal government for poorer schools but put that money toward helping the district as a whole. 5)Brian Collister (WOAI-San Antonio) A national report claimed that San Antonio police were among the best in the country for not targeting minority motorists, but an investigation proved police officers skewed the data. 6) Jacqueline McLean (KGMB-Honolulu) A cemetery that hasn't been licensed in nine years makes room for more bodies by removing old ones. 7) Chris Halsne (KIRO-Seattle) Mapping software found 605 sex offenders living near day cares statewide. None of the day cares were ever notified. 8) Bog Segall (WITI-Milwaukee) Many inmates use their phone privileges to call their victims, intimidating them in the hopes they won't show up at trial. 9)Larry Posner (Inside Edition) An investigation into Pitts, one of the largest door-to-door magazine sellers in the country, found the company charging high rates, abusing employees and hiring felons. 10)Randy Travis (WAGA-Atlanta) This undercover investigation found a state court judge having 19 drinks and then getting in his car to drive. 11)Jim Strickland (WSB-Atlanta) This investigation exposed forgery and fraud by an Atlanta Booting company. 12)Bebe Emerman (KIRO-Seattle) A problem with the powercord of one brand of oscillating fans was linked to 20 house fires. 13)Elisabeth Leamy (WTTG) This story discusses the lives of those held in concentration camps and the Nazi tattoos they received.
Tags: tape; show and tell; investigative; Atlanta; no transcripts; IRE
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Secret Files
The Courant detailed the extent and nature of an unusual practice whereby state judges selectively sealed cases, some so completely that their very existence was not publicly acknowledged. That disclosure, and the revelations that the practice often favored fellow judges, celebrities, and wealthy CEO's, stoked considerable public outrage. Six months later, judges abolished it.
Tags: state judges; dockets; Connecticut Practice Book; Connecticut Law Tribune; sealed cases; sealed files; lawsuit; divorce-court cases; Texaco; Nine West; Arthur Anderson; MasterCard; Primerica Corp.; General Electric; University of Connecticut; Level 1 sealing; Level 2 sealing; judicial branch; Superior Court Judges; U.S. Supreme Court; Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford; Connecticut State Supreme Court; U.S. District Court in Hartford; sexual abuse; lawsuits public interest cases; secret court files; state-court proceedings