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 "judicial corruption" ...
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Bail Bondsmen: Working the Numbers
A year-long investigation into the bail bond industry by the Dallas Morning News focused on the relationship between bail bondsmen, the judicial system, and the county government. The investigation uncovered corrupt practices, sweetheart deals, and dysfunctional oversight that cost taxpayers many millions of dollars.
Tags: Bail Bondsmen; County Government; Judicial System; Sweetheart Deals
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Judge Sylvia James: Access Denied, Chief Judge Under fire
This series examines a chief judge who appears to be using her power and position to do as she pleases. WXYZ used FOIA extensively in their investigation which lead the city to put her on administrative leave as well as leading to inquiries and audits from the State Court Administrator, the Judicial Tenure Commission and a formal complaint containing 192 specific allegations.
Tags: judges; corruption; broadcast
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The Mysterious Death of Janie Ward
This hour-long report is a result of a five-year investigation into the death of a 16-year-old girl 20 years ago in a small town in the Ozarks. It's about two daughters -- one wealthy and popular (a cheerleader and beauty queen); the other poor and self-conscious. It's about two fathers -- one a powerful judge who allegedly shielded his daughter from the law he's sworn to uphold; the other a bail bondsman who is trying to avenge his daughter's death. And it's about one family's fight for justice against what they believe is a corrupt judicial system that closed ranks around the powerful judge to cover-up a murder. When 16-year-old Jamie Ward fell off a 9-inch porch in the woods near Marshall, Ark., on September 9, 1989, her parents refused to blieve that the fall had killed their healthy teenager. Instead, they began to suspect to suspect she was murdered by the judge's daughter. After years of demanding an investigation into her death, an independent medical examiner associated with Parents for Murdered Children exhumed Janie's body a second time for an extremely rare third autopsy. Because the case was 20 years old, most of the files were not digital; rather, the investigation focused on old-fashioned reporting: finding and interviewing eyewitnesses (all of whom had not been reinterviewed since the original investigation); analyzing inconsistencies in the witness statements, double-checking the forensics with independent experts.
Tags: autopsy; unsolved death; forensic science; criminal justice system; reopened cases; Arkansas
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Juice vs Justice
According to the Los Angeles Times, Las Vegas Justices rule on matters in cases where they have received donations from lawyers or defendants, without disclosing their financial interests or relationships, and without withdrawing when a conflict of interest exists. The Los Angeles Times reports "A common perception among a dozen out-of-state lawyers interviewed about their experiences in Nevada courtrooms is that justice in Las Vegas is just another form of legalized gambling." The Times reported this series because more than a quarter of all visits to Las VEgas are made by Southern Californians, and over a third of alll business relocating to Nevada come from California.
Tags: Blackstone; judicial corruption; good-old-boy culture; Las Vegas; Nevada Supreme Court; political fundraising; financial contributions; juice; disclosure; campaign funds; endorsements; pay-to-play
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Justice for rent
The American Prospect investigates how judges are being corrupted from campaign donations. The story reports that "some elected judges are shaking down attorneys who appear before them for campaign contributions."
Tags: courts; lawyers; judicial elections; Ohio Domestic Relations Court; corruption
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A Cozy Connection
WOAI-TV exposes a romantic relationship between David Garcia, a San Antonio city councilman, and a female judge. The story reveals that the councilman made more money than any other court-appointed attorney in Bexar County because the judge appointed him to an immense number of cases as a defense attorney. According to the contest questionnaire, "the investigation proved the judge and the councilman ... share a bank account, shared an address at one time, and possibly committed fraud together."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; City government; courts; public funds; justice; fraud; judicial misconduct; city councilman; judge; corruption
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Questions Unanswered in True case
The story examines the controversies surrounding the investigation into the death of Philip True, a San Antonio Express-News writer. The report questions the freeing of the two Huichol Indians held in True's death, and finds that "the case ... highlights an often-corrupt judicial system." The article follows the chronology of the case and points to some discrepancies in the official confessions of the suspects. It also examines the complaints of the suspects that they have been "beaten and tortured by men in uniforms."
Tags: murder; strangulation; autopsy; journalists; forensic medicine; investigation; human rights
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Baja Police Chief Slain After Vowing Shake-up
The Los Angeles Times reports that "An outspoken Baja California police commander who had vowed to purge his ranks of agents corrupted by Tijuana narcotics kingpins was gunned down early Saturday along with three others after less than a month on the job, the attorney general's office said. Cmdr. Ernesto Ibarra Santes, the Baja director of the Federal Judicial Police, was the sixth senior law enforcement official linked to the Baja California federal attorney general's office to be killed in a gangland-style murder this year...."
Tags: organized crime; murder; law enforcement
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No title (id: 13198)
According to this Penthouse article, the nation's judicial benches are filled with a growing percentage of judges who are either corrupt, ideologically biased, or stupid. The article documents examples of judges' incompetent decisions and examines the process by which judges are selected.
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No title (id: 13138)
Cocaine and herion traffickers have corrupted Columbia's government, judicial system and military so thoroughly that the United States is close to halting cooperation with its most important partner in the drug fight. U.S. drug agents, military commanders and prosecutors say they refuse to share sensitive information with many Columbian officials. The Morning News investigtes the effects this situation may have on the drug flow into the U.S. (Feb. 26 - 27, 1995)
Tags: Marcus Drug traffickers' grip on Columbia tightens Corruption Smuggling Cartels Politics 23 pgs.