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Justice-Denied.org reporting

Investigations, analysis, and public records

Evidence-based reporting on judicial conduct, legal ethics, accountability, and the human cost of systems that fail to follow their own rules.

Craig StevensonMarie StevensonMiranda Stevenson

Latest reporting

By Craig StevensonPublished July 3, 2026Updated September 12, 2026About 5 min read
The Privacy Files

Why Justice-Denied.org Has Been Quieter Than Usual

The explanation behind the relative silence

Readers who have followed Justice-Denied.org may have noticed that we have published fewer posts in recent weeks than usual. That quieter period has not been because the issues we write about have disappeared, nor…
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By Marie StevensonPublished June 9, 2026Updated August 6, 2026About 5 min read

Break the Cycle

Refusing to accept abuse, deceit, corruption, and injustice

I was sixteen, living on my own, juggling multiple jobs to survive. Sitting in the high school guidance counselor’s office nearly forty years ago, trying to navigate personal chaos and an uncertain future, he looked at…
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By Craig StevensonPublished June 1, 2026Updated August 22, 2026About 14 min read
The Candor Files

When Lawyers Mislead Minnesota Courts

Candor is not optional

In Minnesota, a lawyer’s duty of advocacy has a hard boundary: the lawyer may argue forcefully, interpret the record favorably, and press every good-faith legal position available to the client. But a lawyer may not…
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By Marie StevensonPublished April 24, 2026Updated August 6, 2026About 4 min read

Concurrent Injustice: Minnesota’s “Volume Discount” for Predators

Why Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines fail victims of abuse

For the first 50 years of my life as a Minnesota citizen, I never gave much thought to the justice system. I had never stepped inside a courtroom. I had never been deposed. I had never needed a lawyer. I assumed that if…
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By Craig StevensonPublished April 23, 2026Updated August 5, 2026About 7 min read
The Oversight Files

The Number Went Down. The Pattern Did Not.

What the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards’ 2025 Annual Report adds to the story.

Last year, I wrote about a troubling reality in Minnesota’s judicial-discipline system in Eroding Trust, One Dismissal at a Time: the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards (BJS) received a record number of complaints in…
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By Marie StevensonPublished April 17, 2026Updated August 6, 2026About 7 min read
The Privacy Files

When Seeking Justice Means Surrendering Your Privacy

How a lawsuit opened the door to surveillance, fear, and the loss of safety at home

The moment I saw the unfamiliar car creeping slowly past our home, lingering just long enough to study the property, I knew something was wrong. Days later, that uneasy feeling was confirmed: a private investigator had…
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By Craig StevensonPublished April 17, 2026Updated August 23, 2026About 12 min read
The Fairness Files

When the Courthouse Proves the Point

Otter Tail County’s own Law Day event helps explain why so many litigants no longer trust the courts to recognize an appearance problem when they see one.

On May 1, 2026, Otter Tail County will host a public Law Day Open House at the historic courthouse in Fergus Falls, and we encourage the public to attend. According to the county’s own public materials, the event is…
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By Craig StevensonPublished March 28, 2026Updated August 23, 2026About 12 min read

An Open Letter to Minnesota’s Judicial System

Justice is not preserved by authority alone. It is preserved when people can see that the law was applied fairly, the record was honored, and every litigant was truly heard.

To the judges of Minnesota, to the appellate courts, and to the oversight bodies entrusted with preserving confidence in the rule of law: This letter is written in respect, but also in urgency. The Promise the Public Is…
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By Marie StevensonPublished March 18, 2026Updated August 5, 2026About 11 min read

Writing Back Against Revictimization

When abuse victims are ignored, blamed, or mocked by the judicial system, telling the truth in their own words can become an act of survival.

Marie Stevenson - Writing My Story There is a special kind of pain that comes when you finally find the courage to speak about abuse, only to discover that the people and institutions who should listen instead minimize…
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By Craig StevensonPublished March 16, 2026Updated October 29, 2026About 23 min read
Distorting the Law

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

How a separate tort was reframed, narrowed, and dismissed at summary judgment.

Minnesota’s tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) is narrow by design. It is not an easy claim. The plaintiff must show extreme and outrageous conduct, intent or recklessness, causation, and severe…
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By Craig StevensonPublished March 16, 2026Updated October 29, 2026About 11 min read
Distorting the Law

Antiquated Cases

This post examines an Otter Tail District Court judge’s use of antiquated case law in his opinions and why it conflicted with newer, better-fitting Minnesota authority.

Not every old case is bad law. Courts sometimes rely on older decisions because they remain relevant, controlling, and on point. Age alone is not the problem. The problem arises when a court reaches past newer…
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By Craig StevensonPublished March 14, 2026Updated September 12, 2026About 10 min read
The Candor Files

“We Told the Other Side to Pound Sand”

Sean Stevenson’s deleted Patrick Burns review

Sometimes a single document reveals far more than the party who created it ever intended. In our case, one of those documents was a public Google review that Sean Stevenson of Rosemount, Minnesota, posted about attorney…
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About the author

Justice-Denied Team

The Justice-Denied editorial team publishes records-based reporting focused on judicial conduct, evidence, transparency, and accountability.