Civil Trials

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How the ISBCC turned from a place of worship to a symbol of controversy

By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 19, 2008

Anonymous's Gregg Housh is committed to bringing down the Church of Scientology. Is he a gadfly or a goon?
In a world wracked with uncertainty, there is at least one thing you can bet on: pick a fight with the Church of Scientology, and its leaders will fight back — always with vigor, often with a vengeance, and sometimes with litigation that can be long and costly.
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 23, 2008

Sony’s loss is Portland’s gain

Music money
Three local music entities are reaping the benefits of a major national lawsuit against big-name music institutions.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | October 02, 2008

The Big Hurt: Playing with fire

Lil Wayne runs afoul of the ABKCO juggernaut
Milli-selling rapgoblin Lil Wayne probably didn’t worry too much about borrowing the Rolling Stones’ “Play with Fire” for the hook of his track “Playing with Fire.”
By DAVID THORPE | August 05, 2008

Biolab follies

How did BU's research facility go from slam dunk to almost sunk?
In the beginning — way back in the fall of 2003, when the “War on Terror” was still young — the notion that anything could derail the Boston University biolab seemed absurd.
By ADAM REILLY | April 07, 2008

The Station’s long shadow

Five years on, getting by remains a day-to-day challenge for some of those touched by the fire
For most Rhode Islanders, the Station nightclub conflagration — the worst disaster in the state since the hurricane of 1938 — is like a receding object in a rearview mirror.
By IAN DONNIS | February 20, 2008

Ring of fire

The deadbeat FBI fails to pay its phone bills and jeopardizes its wiretapping program
An ugly squabble between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the nation’s biggest phone companies has, in one nasty blow, recast the image of all the entities involved.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | January 23, 2008

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Two Maine Law students take on RIAA big guns
Two third-year law students working at the school’s Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic are taking on the RIAA on behalf of two university students.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | January 09, 2008

Without a stain on his character

Could be verse: poetry ripped from the headlines
Lines in defense of Judge Roy Pearson, who lost a $54 million lawsuit against his dry cleaner and has now lost his job
By JAMES PARKER | November 20, 2007

Free culture: what it is, why it matters

Copyright reform in the digital age
“Copyright law has successfully stopped artists in the past from releasing sample-based works, but I don't think anything could stop me from making it," says Gregg Gillis, a/k/a Girl Talk.
By JOE BERNARDI | November 19, 2007

Clampdown at the Providence Police Department

Esserman imposes tougher standards, but some cops cite inconsistent discipline
At age 42, former Providence Police sergeant Steven Petrella has the look of a besieged man.
By TE-PING CHEN | October 31, 2007

Scared silent

Three lawsuits have been dropped, but local media still seems reluctant to tackle the Islamic Society of Boston
Dr. Walid Fitaihi’s departure from and return to the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) were stories worth reporting.
By ADAM REILLY | September 19, 2007

Maine prison bosses violate court orders

Department of Corrections ignores federal rulings going back to the 1970s
In the activist climate of an earlier era, a Maine legal-aid group brought and won three prisoner-rights lawsuits against state corrections officials.
By LANCE TAPLEY | June 27, 2007