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 "civil suits" ...
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Cincinnati Archdiocese Investigation
For the past three years the authors have been investigating the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for covering up sex abuse in the church and the practice of controlling victims to prevent public revelation. Victims are now pushing lawmakers for a law change that would allow civil suits to be tried in court, despite the passing of the statute of limitations.
Tags: Catholic church; sexual abuse; Archdiocese of Cincinnati; Archbishop of Cincinnati; statute of limitations; Senate Bill 17; Court Order; civil suits; sex-abuse
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A Death in McAllen
This investigation by the Texas Observer looks into nursing home abuse and state legislation protecting owners from non-economic damages in civil suits. What they found was a 2003 Texas law placed a $250,000 cap on damages, heavily lobbied by nursing home companies, directly affected the number of nursing home inspections and leaves little punishment for nursing homes who abuse, or even kill, their patients. The story also tells the tale of Noe Martinez Jr., a patient who died in McAllen Nursing Center due to gross negligence in July 2004. The state only fined the center $1,300 for his death. Because caring for Medicaid patients like Martinez costs nursing homes up to $1,800 per year, the center more than likely saved money because of his death.
Tags: abuse; elderly; McAllen Nursing Center; civil lawsuits; lobbying; CAR; politics; negligence; non-economic damage caps; health care
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St. John's Military School
This KWCH investigation revealed a 10-year pattern of abuse at a Kansas military school. A tip from a former employee of the school prompted the TV station to FOIA police records, which noted 28 cases of abuse including boys being beaten with broomsticks, burned with lighters and kicked repeatedly. A related civil suit alleged staff negligence, and other discussions of abuse were found in an alumni chat room on the Internet.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; military schools; military academy; military cadets; St. John's Military School
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Telling Tales Out of School
"Educators are duping parents, lying to them, and experimenting on their children. That's what legislators nationwide are hearing as they ponder laws that would codify parent rights. The question is: What do these tales, so full of sound and fury, really signify?" Education Week then examines recent political movements and law suits, and attempts to answer that question.
Tags: education; lawsuit; legislation; parents; civil court; representative; rights; politics; sex education; condoms; birth control; supreme court; constitution; federalism; Chip Angell; counselor; parental rights and responsibilities act
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All in the Familia
LA Weekly profiles a U.S. police officer, Skip Ensley, who informed the FBI about the movements of his brother-in-law Luis Valenzuela, a major Mexican drug trafficker. When an attempt for Valenzuela's arrest failed, Ensley's role as informant became evident. He was forced to go into hiding and filed a civil suit against the FBI. The story sheds light on flaws in America's war on drugs.
Tags: drug trafficking; intelligence; underground; police; crime
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DWB* (*Driving While Black)
Esquire reports on the DEA's program Operation Pipeline, an attempt to stop interstate drug trafficking that has come under file for encouraging, if not sponsoring, racial profiling. Despite numerous civil rights law suits and statistics that show an overwhelming majority of the motorists pulled over are black and Hispanic, the DEA still calls the program one of its "most successful." The Supreme Court basically handed law enforcement a license to do these kind of searches when it ruled that a cop can pull someone over for any minor traffic violation. U.S. District Judge James Carrigan wrote a criticism of the program which said, the task force, "systematically violated the constitutionally protected rights of blacks and Hispanics to travel and be free from unreasonable seizures."
Tags: racial profiling; law enforcement; operation pipeline; Drug Enforcement Agency; U.S. Supreme Court; Whren decision
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Soft on Crime Fighters
Crogan investigates the case of L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Richard Ceballos, who is suing his supervisors and former D.A. Gil Garcetti in federal court "claiming they retaliated against him after he alleged that L.A. County Sheriff's deputies made up information to obtain a search warrant in an auto-parts theft case." Ceballos goes on the say that there is a "historical custom and practice in the D.A.'s office to protect and cover up police officer who engage in misconduct." The suit stems from a 1999 incident in which a defense attorney alleged that several sheriff's deputies lied on a search warrant affidavit in the auto-parts case which they subsequently discovered narcotics. Trouble began for Ceballos after he investigated the incident further and took his information to his supervisors. Ceballos claims his supervisors neglected his investigation and "kowtowed" to the department's fear of civil litigation. Ceballos' supervisors maintain they did nothing unethical or illegal and that Ceballos was upset over a missed promotion.
Tags: Criminal Justice; Los Angeles; corruption
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Steve Madden: Crisis of the Sole
New York Magazine talks with shoe tycoon, Steve Madden about his company, his success and now his recent indictment. "He was indicted for stock fraud and money laundering in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. According to charges, Madden secretly purchased stock on behalf of the principals of two corrupt penny-stock brokerage firms . . . helping them manipulate 29 initial public offerings, including that of his own company. That same day, the Securities and Exchange Commission came after him with a civil suit alleging Madden had employed 'devices, schemes, and artifices to defraud.' Madden faces up to more than 20 years in prison and several million dollars in fines" if convicted. Despite the odds against him, Madden tells reporter Johanna Berkman he will prevail.
Tags: business; shoes; sales; Securities and Exchange Commission; stocks; trade; budgets; banking; brokerage companies
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The Kimberly Conundrum
The Philadelphia City Paper "examined how attorneys for two men acquitted of one of Philadelphia's most infamous murders claimed their clients were victims of a cover-up conspiracy involving the cops, City Hall and the Mob. The conspiracy theory was part of their effort to win a $75 million civil suit filed against the city by the men... for false arrest. ... An intensive, three-month investigation into (cover-up) allegations revealed not only that they were false, but that the attorneys - and their investigators, as well as (a plaintiff) had presented false and misleading information to the police ... and to the families of other murder victims...."
Tags: unsolved murder Kimberly Ernest Herbert Haak Richard Wise John Lambert Tom Augustine DNA evidence
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Texas Corporate Interests Financed Bulk of Bush Races
A Los Angeles Times investigation examines the fund-raising practices of former Texas governor and presidential candidate George W. Bush during the 1998 and 1994 gubernatorial elections. The extensive computer-assisted analysis revealed that much of the money Bush raised during those campaigns "came from contributors with major stakes in state regulation." Bush's leading donors included "oil and other large industrial companies trying to avert mandatory pollution controls; businesses seeking relief from expensive civil suits, and conservatives advocating state-paid vouchers for students in private schools."
Tags: George W. Bush; Texas; 1998 and 1994 gubernatorial elections; campaign finance; fund-raising; conservatives; Republicans