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 "federal judge" ...
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Missing from the Bench
WVUE tracked a local judge who was living hundreds of miles from her judicial bench. The series helped prompt a Federal Grand Jury investigation.
Tags: judge; judicial system; court; justice; elected official;
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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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On Hold
On Oct. 22, 2007 there was a mistrial for the federal case of five men who worked for the Muslim charity, the Holy Land Foundation, because they were believed to be funding the Palestinian terrorist organization, the Hamas. After four monts of trial, the jury came to a verdict on Oct. 18 but the judge let the jury go home for the weekend before reading the verdict on Oct. 22. Three jurors decided they didn't agree with the verdict, adding to the case ending in a mistrial.
Tags: terrorism; moslim; A. Joe Fish;
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Justice Capsized?
"An investigation of the U.S. Coast Guard's administrative law system, based on internal memos, interviews, the sworn statement of an agency judge and a computer data analysis of thousands of cases, suggests the system in stacked against the hundreds of civilian mariners whose charges of negligence or misconduct are handled by the courts each year. Documents and computer records show that Coast Guards leaders encourage judges to rule in the agency's favor, sometimes in violation of federal laws."
Tags: Coast Guard; justice; law system; mariners; seaman; seagoers
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On Their Honor
This story reveals a problem within the federal court system. The system bars judges from hearing cases where they have a financial conflict, but leaves the decision to withdraw from the case up to individual judges. Consequently, this investigation found that Milwaukee County Circuit Court judges often make rulings in cases that involve corporations in which they have substantial economic interests.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; justice system; judges; courts; ethics; federal government; county court system; public records; FOIA
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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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Conflict on the Bench
Evans examined two sitting federal judges, James H. Payne and Terrence Boyle, to determine their independence.Both were nominated by President Bush for higher court seats. Both have conflicts of interest on their bench: they each sat on cases that involved companies in which they owned stock. Judge Payne withdrew his nomination after the stories about him ran.
Tags: federal judge; stock; companies; bench; Boyle; Payne; Bush; Circuit Court of Appeals;
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Taking the Cuffs off at Carswell
Fort Worth Weekly reporter Betty Brink has been covering medical and sexual abuse of female inmates at Carswell Federal Medical Center, in Texas, since 1999. As a result of her coverage, and his own investigation, a retired judge, Ross Sears is asking for a Congressional investihgation into the deadly conditions at "the only prison hospital in the country for mentally or chronicallly ill or dying women who have been convicted of a federal crime."
Tags: medical negligence; sexual abuse; Carswell Federal Mediacal Center; medical records; Bureau of Prisons; FOI requests; U.S. Office of Special Counsel; Dr. Roger Guthrie; Ross Sears; retaliation; compassionate release; John Peter Smith Hospital; Tarrant County Medical Examiner; autopsies; prison deaths; women inmates; femaile prisoners; Baylor Regional Transplant Institute; Huguley Memorial Medical Center; brain damage; whistleblower complaints; medical malpractice; sentinel event; rape;
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"The Traitor: the Ed Wilson Story"
Nightline investigated the case of Ed Wilson, a former CIA agent, who was sentenced in 1983 to 52 years in federal prison for selling arms and explosives to Libya. Twenty years later he was quietly exonerated and it was brought to light that prosecutors and government witnesses had fabricated evidence against Wilson and lied under oath. Now, three of those men are federal judges and others prominent lawyers in Washington.
Tags: Miscarriage of justice; perjury; CIA; Justice Department
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Judging the Jury
For the first time ever, reporters at WHDH-TV in Boston analyzed the racial makeup of federal juries in Massachusetts. What they found was that, in some cases, jury pools had no people of color whatsoever, which led to all white juries. According to their investigation, minorities remained underrepresented in the justice system as much as 50 percent of the time. The reason? Jury pools are chosen according to who responds to the town census. Because it is an unfunded mandate, many low income neighborhoods do a bad job of responding to the census, while the affluent neighborhoods fair much better. These are the neighborhoods with the highest returns and they are the ones repeatedly being called for jury duty.
Tags: jury pools; voter registration; underrepresented minorities; racial makeup; town census; U.S. Census; FOIA