Dec. 12, 2020Screenshot by Spotlight PASee how often your local Pa. district judges are actually in the courtroomby Daniel Simmons-Ritchie of Spotlight PAUse our interactive tool to explore our analysis of case proceedings for nearly all of Pennsylvania's more than 500 district judges.
Dec. 10, 2020DAN GLEITER / PennLivePiles of records and months of reporting lead to eye-opening report on Pa. district judgesby Daniel Simmons-Ritchie of Spotlight PA and Christine Vendel of PennLiveA yearlong investigation by PennLive and Spotlight PA included a detailed analysis of more than 3.8 million case events, as well as more than 40 interviews.
Dec. 10, 2020Sean Simmers / PennLiveSome local Pa. judges enjoy light workloads as taxpayers pay millions for salaries, pensions, health careby Daniel Simmons-Ritchie of Spotlight PA and Christine Vendel of PennLiveA yearlong investigation by PennLive and Spotlight PA found huge variations in how much time each judge spends in the courtroom. Many also work second jobs as lawyers, business owners.
Oct. 1, 2020How Pa. state troopers seize big money from drivers, many of whom are never chargedby Joseph Darius Jaafari of Spotlight PA and Joshua Vaughn of The AppealAn investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken drivers’ money with little evidence, sometimes the result of illegal searches.
Sept. 30, 2020Abbie Adams / For Pittsburgh City PaperA changing story by police on a rural Pa. shooting helped fuel white vigilantes and misinformationby Joseph Darius Jaafari of Spotlight PA and Ryan Deto of Pittsburgh City PaperVideo footage from the night of a shooting in Bedford County does not support state police accounts that a confrontation preceded shots being fired at a group of civil rights marchers.
Sept. 3, 2020DAN GLEITER / PennLivePa. inspector general reviewing legality of some state police traffic stops, searchesby Joseph Darius Jaafari of Spotlight PAThe action comes in response to an investigation by Spotlight PA and The Appeal that found a pattern of illegal searches.
Aug. 31, 2020Highway ‘stop-and-frisk’: How Pennsylvania state troopers conduct illegal traffic searchesby Joseph Darius Jaafari of Spotlight PA and Joshua Vaughn of The AppealA review of five years of cases that arose from traffic stops in the south-central region of the state shows that police used underhand tactics to justify holding and searching drivers illegally.
July 15, 2020Courtesy 3/20 CoalitionIn State College, a police shooting and calls for action, not more committee reportsby Yaasmeen Piper of Spotlight PASpotlight PA spoke to a member of the 3/20 Coalition in State College as part of a new series contrasting the demands for police reform in communities to the actions taken by the legislature.