Posted in2020 Primary
Cook County judicial primary election ensures more diverse bench
Democratic Party picks did not all glide to victory and one-third of appointed judges lost their seats.
Emily Hoerner
Emily Hoerner was a reporter for Injustice Watch from 2016 to 2021, where she covered policing, judges, and other aspects of the criminal justice system. She won numerous awards for her work at Injustice Watch, including an Ancil Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism and a National Headline Club award, and was a finalist for the Online News Association's Knight Award for Public Service.
Posted inArchive
Retired judges call on Mo. Supreme Court to correct potential wrongful conviction
Eleven retired Missouri judges, including a former state supreme court justice, contend a St. Louis judge wrongly denied a hearing for a man convicted of murder even though the prosecutor has concluded he is innocent and was framed by local police and prosecutors.
Posted inIn Plain View
Dallas Police discipline 13 officers over troubling Facebook posts
Thirteen Dallas police officers have been disciplined following a department investigation into their Facebook posts after they were included in the Plain View Project database of social media activity by law enforcement officers in eight locales that could endanger public trust in policing.
Posted inArchive
St. Louis prosecutor’s lawsuit: City, police union, thwarting justice
In a rare move, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Garner has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of St. Louis, the local police union and special prosecutors, contending they each have participated in thwarting her efforts to seek justice and equal rights for racial minorities in the city.
Posted inArchive
Missouri appellate court asks high court to review case of potential wrongful conviction
The court’s action transferring the case to the Missouri Supreme Court came as the appellate court dismissed an appeal by Lamar Johnson of St. Louis who is seeking to overturn his conviction based on the local prosecutor’s finding that Johnson was framed by police and prosecutors for a 1994 murder.
Posted inIllinois Prisons
Nine Illinois prison guards disciplined after mocking transgender inmates on Facebook
The Illinois Department of Corrections issued suspensions and written reprimands to nine prison guards who mocked, demeaned or disclosed personal information about transgender inmates in private Facebook groups.
Posted inIn Plain View
Discipline disparities and racial tension persists in St. Louis Metro Police
A scathing report from a public commission on the firing of a black police captain confirmed longstanding claims that black officers in St. Louis are disciplined more harshly than their white peers.
Posted inIn Plain View
St. Louis Police Dept. fires two officers after troubling social media posts
The officers were among 22 active St. Louis police officers whose Facebook posts extolling violence, using dehumanizing language, or expressing bias against certain groups were included in the Plain View Project.
Posted inIllinois Prisons
Illinois Dept. of Corrections announces new social media policy after employees mocked transgender prisoners online
Following Injustice Watch reporting last month about more than two dozen state correctional employees who participated in conversations that mocked or disclosed private information about transgender inmates in private Facebook groups, the Illinois Department of Corrections announced a revised social media policy for its roughly 12,000 employees.
Posted inThe Long Wait
Appeals court hears claim judge harshly treated murder defendant to hide his own corruption
Attorneys for a Chicago man convicted of a 1976 police killing argued before a packed Illinois appellate courtroom Thursday that the prisoner was found guilty and given a sentence of several hundred years by a judge trying to conceal his own corruption.