Covering Crime and Justice -- Table of Contents

Written and edited by
Criminal Justice Journalists
www.reporters.net/cjj/

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Table of Contents

Introduction		Sidebars • Story Ideas

Chapter 1: The Crime Beat
• Introduction • About the Beat • Beat History • Crime Defined • Crime Beat Basics • Beat Background • The Arrest Process • 'Bad News' Beat • Crime Reporters at Work • Crime Beat Issues • Digging In • Enterprise • Evaluating Your Agency • Corruption and Rogues • Access and Records • If You Face Arrest		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas • Crime Reporting: "A Useful Beacon" • The Interrogation Protocol • The Right to an Attorney • Crime Computers • Perp Walks • An Obscure Criminal • Crime Waves • LAPD Thumbnail • Police Pay Profile

Chapter 2: Juvenile Justice
• Introduction • Creating a Secret System • The Violent Few • The System As It Exists Today • Dependency Hearings • Delinquency Proceedings • Trying Juveniles as Adults • How Journalists Can Negotiate the Juvenile Justice System		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Chapter 3: Reporting on Drug Law Enforcement and Controlled Substances
• Introduction • The Drug War's Rising Costs • What are Controlled Substances? • Following the Money • The Changing Face of the Law • Identifying Potential Contacts • Cultivating Your Sources • Think Outside the Box • Focusing Your Lens • Arrest and Trial • Translating Blotters and Calendars • Covering Arrests • Procedural Differences • Other Crucial Documents • Making a Federal Case of It • Fleshing Out The Story		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Chapter 4: Racial and Ethnic Issues
• Introduction • Race, Crime and Poverty • Are Blacks Over-Arrested for Drug Violations? • Deciding When to Include Race • Confronting Your Own Bias • Race and Interviews • Racial Profiling and Racially Biased Policing • A 13 Percent "Hit Rate" for Traffic Stops • Allegations of Race-Based Police Abuse • Discrimination Within Law Enforcement		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Chapter 5: Covering Crime and Its Victims
• Introduction • Who is a Victim? • Approaching Crime Victims • At the Scene • At the Hospital • After the Incident • Over the Phone • What to Ask • Accuracy • How Graphic Should the Story Be? • Who Else Do You Interview? • Interviewing Rape and Sexual Assault Victims		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Chapter 6: Journalism Ethics
• Introduction • Ethics and Integrity • Issues of Ethics • Conflicts of Interest • Libel		Sidebars • Resources • Issues • Columnist Writes of Daughter's Rape • Gift and Meal Ethics • Virginian-Pilot Excerpts • Codes of Ethics

Chapter 7: Covering the Courts
• Introduction • Court Organization • Federal Courts • Covering The Beat • Follow The Paper • The Docket Sheet Grows • Sources • Before The Trial • Trials • Judges • Judicial Selection • Appeals • Access		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Chapter 8: Covering Criminal Courts
• Introduction • Plea Bargaining • Charges • Pre-Trial Proceedings • Motions • The Trial • The Appeal		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Chapter 9: Covering Civil Courts
• Introduction • The Beginning • Pre-Trial • Other Civil Courts		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Chapter 10: How Prosecutors Work
• Introduction • How Federal Prosecutors Differ • Following Major Cases • Prosecutors and Politics • Chuck the Data and the Budget • Sources Beyond the Prosecutor's Office • Some Basic Questions • Patterns of Misconduct • Time Equals Truth		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Chapter 11: Guns and Gun Control
• Introduction • The American Gun Conundrum • Gun Basics • Gun Cases • Gun and the Laws • 2nd Amendment • ATFE, Gun Groups		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas • Gun Shows • Background Check • Hunting Zumbo

Chapter 12: Covering Domestic Violence
• Introduction • What is domestic violence? • The Legal System’s Response to Domestic Violence • The Social Response to Domestic Violence		Sidebars • Resources • Story Ideas

Created with the cooperation of the Institute for Justice and Journalism, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California,
and the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania

Made possible by a grant from the Ford Foundation