Justice (courts/crime/law)
Wisconsin partnership tracks unsolved murders
Gannett Wisconsin Media began publishing a four-week series called Cold Cases: Tracking Wisconsin’s unsolved murders. According to Gannett Wisconsin Media, the project is the most comprehensive look into unsovled murders ever assembled in the region. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism also partnered with Gannett Wisconsin Media on this project, which includes a searchable database…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Payday fees, ATF stings, inpatient bills and unpaid attorneys
The Koch Club | Investigative Reporting WorkshopKoch foundations gave more than $41 million to 89 nonprofits from 2007-2011, part of a wide effort at funding organizations with public policy, education and political interests that align with those of Koch Industries, run by Charles and David Koch. The Investigative Reporting Workshop examined Internal Revenue Service documents…
Read More13 excessive force complaints against Minneapolis police officer involved in Terrence Franklin shooting
His supervisors and fellow officers praise Officer Lucas Peterson as a courageous and exemplary cop. Court records offer a different view — an officer whose aggressive methods frequently cross the line, according to a Star Tribune report. Since he joined the force in 2000, he has been named in at least 13 excessive force complaints…
Read MoreATF uses fake drugs, big bucks to snare suspects
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has locked up more than 1,000 people using controversial sting operations that entice suspects to rob nonexistent drug stash houses. See how the stings work and who they target in this USA Today report.
Read MoreUnjustified
A Newsday report reveals how a cop shot an unarmed man — and kept his job.
Read MoreFemale workers face rape, harassment in U.S. agriculture industry
According to a Center for Investigative Reporting article, hundreds of female agricultural workers have complained to the federal government about being raped, assaulted and verbally and physically harassed on the job, while law enforcement has done almost nothing to prosecute potential crimes.
Read MoreHennepin Co. commissioner voted for contracts tied to wife’s law firm
The Star Tribune reports Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin has repeatedly voted for multimillion-dollar trash-disposal agreements tied to the law firm where his wife works — and never disclosed the connection. Minnesota law says that officials taking action on a matter that would “substantially affect the official’s financial interests or those of an associated business”…
Read MoreStar witness in Debra Milke case accused of ongoing misconduct as constable
Condemned killer Debra Milke still sits on Arizona’s death row. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her conviction largely on the testimony of Phoenix Police Detective Armando Saldate, who claimed Milke confessed. He didn’t record it, write it down or have it witnessed. Investigative reporter Wendy Halloran from KPNX (NBC) Phoenix uncovered Saldate had a history…
Read MorePolice officer fired and then rehired
“Questions linger months after the Almanac broke the story about the arrest, firing and reinstatement of a veteran Menlo Park police officer: How, exactly, does a police officer keep his job after being caught with a prostitute in a motel room?” “Now, the public finally has some answers. The Almanac spent five months investigating binding…
Read MoreIn California, incarcerated students fall through gaps in special education laws
The Center for Investigative Reporting looks into who is responsible for educating students with disabilities in jail. “California and federal laws allow students with disabilities to receive special education until age 22. But the laws are vague enough that deciding who should provide that education is unclear.”
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