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 "buying Judges" ...
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Fen-phen Horse
A diet drug names fen-phen was pulled from the market because it was linked to heart problems, and after a $200 million settlement case the injured patients' attorneys cheated them out of their money. The attorneys used the money to buy a race horse that won the Preakness, in addition to setting up questionable charities and included the judge in the case on the payroll after he retired.
Tags: Curlin; horse racing; settlement; class action; William Gallion; Shirley Cunningham; Melbourne Mills;
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Salon.com Bush Series
This story is a duplicate. Go to 23221 for the actual file.
Tags: Judge James H. Payne; Judge Terrence Boyle; U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Judges; George W. Bush; presidential malfeasance; corruption; buying Judges
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Judges Under the Influence
The Charlotte Observer found that prominent defense lawyers in three coastal North Carolina counties helped judges get appointed and elected; and rarely lost when they took DWI cases to trial before them.
Tags: Driving while intoxicated; judicial appointment; defense attorneys; lawyers; Department of Human Services; John Nobles; Judicial Standards Commission; buying Judges
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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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The Best Judges Money Can Buy
In 21 states, Supreme Court judges are elected. To get elected, though, they must raise advertising money, and to do that, they must take donations. But, as evidenced by so many campaign finance scandals, taking donations leads to public mistrust. The story points out that the legislative branch was meant to be completely unbiased and unapologetic. The idea that judges can be bought, then, is a frightening concept. A sidebar offers ideas as to what can be done to remedy the problem
Tags: campaign contributions; judges; elections
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Courting Big Money
The Buffalo News explains "how judicial elections, specifically State Supreme Court, are financed in New York state." The newspaper found that "judges and judicial candidates in the eighth judicial district in Western New York were forced to take part in an election system that turned them into fundraisers for the major political parties. Even those candidates who were cross-endorsed by the major parties, who had no election opponents, raised money that was then donated to various candidates for office. This occured despite a ban on judges making direct political donations. A loophole allowing judges to buy tickets to political events was used, with tickets costing as much as $1,000. And most of the money was raised from attorneys, who one day might appear before these very judges."
Tags: New York State Supreme Court; judges; judicial districts; loophole; campaign finance; attorneys; major parties; Democrats; Republicans; courts
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The Buying of the Bench
In the thirty-nine states that elect judges at some level, the cost of judicial races is rising at least as fast as that of either Congressional races or presidential campaigns, as candidates for the bench pay for sophisticated ads, polls and consultants.
Tags: Judges; elections; campaign; state courts; campaign contributions
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Justice for Sale/ The Buying of the Bench
The 1996 fundraising scandal drew new attention to the way moneyed interests buy political favors in Washington. But far from the nation's capital, many of these same donors operate unchecked in the state courts. In most of the 39 states that elect judges at some level, the cost of judicial races is rising, and special interests are donating big bucks.
Tags: Tobacco; Casinos; Insurance; Doctors; Religious Right; Unions
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No title (id: 4681)
Common Cause Magazine details the practice of giving campaign contributions to state judges with the understanding that the judge, once elected, will view any future litigation of the contributor in a favorable light; law firms are the largest contributors, with most of their contributions going to incumbent judges; corporations and law firms find that they buy more influence per dollar contributed by giving to judge candidacies than by giving to gubernatorial or state legislature candidates, May/June 1987.
Tags: None