I’ve been thinking about what journalists promise readers and our sources. We promise them the truth. We promise accuracy, honesty, credibility. We promise that they…
Posts published in “Courthouse Project”
A visitor discovered the first victim half-naked in a bathroom at Duke Hospital, recovering from having been choked unconscious. Bits of her attacker’s flesh were…
In this latest Reflections podcast, Lilly Clark talks about how the news media’s coverage of the courts system sometimes does more harm than good.…
Judge Nancy Gordon emerges from a concealed door behind the bench into Courtroom 5A. No one notices her, except for the bailiff, who stands and…
In Vance County on a recent Tuesday, a bail bondsman faced off against the school board attorney: $15,000 was at stake. Two eldery bailiffs manned…
At the Durham County Courthouse, judgments begin before a case is even heard. The first judgment happens at the doors of the courthouse, where deputies…
Two women come before a judge seeking domestic violence protection orders. In one case, a woman alleges that her abuser is trying to get possession…
Trial Court Administrator E. Deneen Barrier’s desk is a mess. Pushed into a corner beside her monitor, an enormous stack of jumbled documents dominates the…
The murder victim’s mother rushes out of the bond hearing in tears. Marion Bailey hurries out after her. Bailey, a 74-year-old retiree wearing a bright…
If someone asked you to picture a judge’s chambers, you might imagine a room from a “Law & Order” episode, with quilted leather furniture, towering…