Jeffrey Scott Shapiro

Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
Born (1973-04-27) April 27, 1973
Houston, Texas, USA
Alma mater J.D. University of Florida, B.S. Florida State University
Occupation Attorney and Journalist
Employer The Washington Times
Known for Journalism ethics and standards
Opponent(s) Tabloid journalism

Jeffrey Scott Shapiro (born April 27, 1973) is a practicing American attorney and nationally recognized investigative journalist who has reported on several high-profile criminal and political cases, often defending people who become targets of the tabloid media. He currently writes legal analysis for The Washington Times and previously served as a criminal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., handling statutory offenses that implicate the First Amendment.[1][2][3]

Shapiro's key political investigations include the Oklahoma City bombing, the September 11 attacks, the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, the 2011 military intervention in Libya and U.S. military cooperation with the Russian space program. He investigated the murders of JonBenét Ramsey and Chandra Levy for several news outlets, reported on the Columbine High School massacre for Time (magazine), covered the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case and death of Michael Jackson for CBS News, and helped discredit the now retracted Rolling Stone story, A Rape on Campus for The Washington Times.

Journalism ethics and standards

Early in his career, Shapiro investigated the murder of JonBenet Ramsey for the Globe tabloid newspaper, but he quickly turned against it reporting his editors to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for criminal violations, and later testifying before a Colorado grand jury.[4][5] Shapiro was profiled in October 1998 by Newsweek magazine as a young, dedicated tabloid journalist, but by May 1999, New York (magazine) reported that he experienced a "reincarnation as a fervid anti-tabloid crusader."[6][7] He has since engaged in a long-standing campaign against the tabloid industry by speaking out against their journalism practices and supporting legislation to penalize paparazzi when endangering the public.[8] Shapiro's anti-tabloid views have been controversial among other journalists, and he has been both praised and criticized by the mainstream press.[9][10]

Shapiro's change of heart came at a time when tabloids were immersed in controversy due to the mysterious death of Diana, Princess of Wales, who died during a paparazzi chase in Paris on August 31, 1997.[11] British journalism professor Michael Tracey, who was teaching mass media at the University of Colorado convinced Shapiro that continuing to work for the tabloids would be immoral since Shapiro believed the stories accusing John Ramsey were false.[12] Shapiro felt compassion for the people his editors were targeting, and he telephoned John Ramsey to apologize for his participation in the tabloid journalism world.[13] Soon thereafter, Shapiro reported his editors to the FBI for conspiring to blackmail lead Boulder Detective Steve Thomas for sealed grand jury evidence, and revealed how his editors engaged in commercial bribery and illegal information brokering.[12] The FBI was unable to refer the case to the United States Attorney, but criminal charges were filed by Colorado prosecutors.[14] A grand jury was convened by the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office and the "Globe" challenged the charges on First Amendment grounds. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled against the tabloid, and Globe editors pledged to donate $100,000 to the University of Colorado journalism ethics studies program and publicly admit they had acted "unethically" in exchange for a dismissal of all charges.[15][16][17]

In a 2003 interview with CNN host Paula Zahn, Shapiro said he never broke the law while working for the tabloids, but admitted that his "reporting helped inflict a lot of misery on innocent people," and that he was interested in helping victims of tabloid persecution.[18] That same year the Vail Daily summarized Shapiro's change of heart, reporting that "he left the tabloid world in a blaze of glory handing the Globe to the FBI on a silver platter."[4] He has since actively campaigned against tabloid journalism practices by defending people ridiculed by the press.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

Investigative journalism

Shapiro currently writes for The Washington Times as a legal analyst and investigative reporter. His key political investigations uncovered new DNA evidence in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, revealed secret recordings of Pentagon officials discussing the 2011 military intervention in Libya, shined a light on the Kremlin's poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and brought attention to the United States Air Force's use of Russian rocket engines.[29][30][31][32][33] Previously in New York, Shapiro reported on the Robert Hanssen Soviet spy case and September 11 attacks for The Journal News.[34] Shortly after the Twin Towers attack, he confirmed a 9/11 urban legend about a Brooklyn high school under FBI investigation for reportedly predicting the collapse of the World Trade Center. Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter and Daily Telegraph commentator Mark Steyn confirmed the story, but Snopes classified the incident and a similar episode reported in the Houston Chronicle as "undetermined."[35][36][37] Shapiro has also covered several criminal investigations including the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, the Columbine High School massacre, the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case, the death of Michael Jackson, the potential extradition of Amanda Knox for the murder of Meredith Kercher and the now retracted Rolling Stone story, A Rape on Campus, which falsely accused several University of Virginia fraternity members of sexual assault.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]

Practice of law

Shapiro graduated from law school at the University of Florida, was trained by the United States Attorney in Washington, D.C. and subsequently prosecuted First Amendment related cases for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.[3] He prosecuted unlawful protestors who demonstrated at the United States Capitol and White House, including Code Pink activist Desiree Ali-Fairooz who was accused of assaulting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a committee hearing in the United States House of Representatives.[48] After the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Shapiro authored a column for the Wall Street Journal, revealing his criticisms of gun control based on the ineffectiveness of the 1976 District of Columbia gun ban, which was struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States in District of Columbia v. Heller.[2] In 2012, Shapiro assisted Los Angeles civil rights lawyer Conal Doyle while he was trying a case in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the federal government for denying proper medical care to an undocumented immigrant detained in the San Diego Correctional Facility.[49] He currently practices law in California, Florida and Washington, D.C.[50][51][52]

Authored books

References

  1. ↑ Washington Times Biography Page
  2. 1 2 Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (January 15, 2013), "Jeffrey Scott Shapiro: A Gun Ban That Misfired", The Wall Street Journal
  3. 1 2 D'oyley, Danielle (September 8, 2008), "Career Spotlight: Jeffrey Scott Shapiro", FlaLaw Online XII (3): 1
  4. 1 2 Wyrick, Randy (August 22, 2003), "Exposing the Tragedies Tabloids Cause", The Vail Daily
  5. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (July 19, 2012), "Tabloids Don't Deserve the 1st Amendment", The Los Angeles Times
  6. ↑ Glick, Daniel (October 15, 1998), "Tab Man: Old School, New Moves", Newsweek
  7. ↑ Mitchell, Deborah (May 10, 1999), "As the World Turns One More Time", New York Magazine
  8. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (October 15, 1999), "A Brake on the Paparazzi", The Los Angeles Times
  9. ↑ Taranto, James (October 15, 2011), "The Los Angeles Times v. The First Amendment", The American Spectator
  10. ↑ Martel, Frances (July 19, 2011), "LA Times: The Constitution Is Wrong: 'Tabloids Don't Deserve' Freedom", Mediaite.com
  11. ↑ Rayner, Gordon (October 10, 2007), "Princess Diana: Paparazzi didn't help victims", The Daily Telegraph (London)
  12. 1 2 Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (June 1999), "Inside the Globe", The Washington Monthly
  13. ↑ Staff, Daily Camera (February 6, 2000), "Deposition Excerpts from John Ramsey", The Daily Camera
  14. ↑ Moscou, Jim (December 25, 1999), "Tabloid Editor Indicted", Editor and Publisher
  15. ↑ Pankratz, Howard (March 4, 2000), "DA to Prosecute Ransom-Note Case", The Denver Post
  16. ↑ Weaver, Lindsay (Fall 1999), "Global Irony! Tabloid Shame is School's $100,000 Gain", University of Colorado
  17. ↑ Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (2000), "Prosecutor Drops Bribery Charges Against Editor", Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  18. ↑ Zahn, Paula (August 26, 2003), "Interview with Jeffrey Shapiro", Live From the Headlines
  19. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (November 5, 2008), "The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace", The Wall Street Journal
  20. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (2004), "Dishonoring the Real American Heroes", The Gainesville Sun
  21. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (January 7, 2006), "Last Strong Democrat Standing?", The Washington Times
  22. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (November 23, 2010), "Condit Vindicated by Levy Verdict", The Washington Times
  23. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (September 15, 2012), "Paparazzi, haven't you learned? Don't endanger Kate Middleton like Princess Diana", Fox News Opinion
  24. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (August 6, 2014), "Alexander Litvinenko: A tragic Russian patriot", The Washington Times
  25. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (August 17, 2012), "In Defense of 'Twilight' Star Kristen Stewart", Fox News Opinion
  26. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (September 26, 2011), "Stop Bullying Monica Lewinsky", Fox News Opinion
  27. ↑ Munson, Lester (February 2011), "Past Imperfect", Sports Illustrated
  28. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (July 19, 2010), "Evil Wins the Day in Switzerland", Fox News Opinion
  29. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (December 7, 2015), "Oklahoma City bombing secret: DNA extracted from unknown leg", The Washington Times
  30. ↑ Cross, Phil (January 28, 2015), "Fox Investigates: What will Oklahoma do with knowledge of unidentified DNA from bombing?", Fox News
  31. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (January 28, 2015), "Exclusive: Secret tapes undermine Hillary Clinton on Libyan war", The Washington Times
  32. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (December 30, 2013), "The man Putin Fears Most: Why the world must seek justice for Alexander Litvinenko", Fox News Opinion
  33. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (September 2, 2014), "U.S. military reliance on Russian rockets raises security fears", The Washington Times
  34. ↑ Noble, Kenneth Ray (2010), "Lawyer Profiles", Noble Lawyering Lawyer Profile
  35. ↑ Alter, Jonathan (2001), "A Chilling Tale: A Brooklyn boy predicted the World Trade Center attacks. What's a jittery New York to make of that?", NBC News/Newsweek
  36. ↑ Steyn, Mark (September 14, 2001), "We Must All Be More Sensitive", UK Telegraph
  37. ↑ "Dallas Schoolboy Predicts September 11 Attacks", Snopes, April 13, 2008
  38. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (December 26, 2011), "My Search for JonBenet Ramsey's Killer", Fox News Opinion
  39. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (December 20, 2001), "The Ghost of Christmas Past", The Boulder Weekly
  40. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (December 26, 2006), "It's Time for the FBI to Take Over the JonBenet Case", Fox News Opinion
  41. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (July 11, 2008), "Jeffrey Scott Shapiro: DA Wrong to Clear Ramseys", Fox News Opinion
  42. ↑ Pooley, Eric (May 10, 1999), "Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold: Portrait of a Deadly Bond", TIME Magazine
  43. ↑ Gibbs, Nancy (1999), "The Littleton Massacre: ...In Sorrow And Disbelief", TIME Magazine
  44. ↑ Goldiner, David (February 2, 2004), "Rape Accuser Said No - Book", New York Daily News
  45. ↑ O'Reilly, Bill (February 2, 2004), "A New, Unauthorized Book on Kobe Bryant", The O'Reilly Factor
  46. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (January 30, 2014), "After new Italian murder conviction, Knox's fate could rest with Kerry", The Washington Times
  47. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (December 15, 2014), "Friends of U.Va. rape accuser raise fresh doubts about story, citing phone records", The Washington Times
  48. ↑ Murphy, Gael (April 30, 2008), "Woman Who Confronted Condi Rice With "Bloody" Hands Faces 135 Days Jail Time", CODEPINK
  49. ↑ Shapiro, Jeffrey Scott (July 30, 2012), "Do Detained Illegal Immigrants Deserve Medical Treatment?", The Daily Caller
  50. ↑ State Bar of California Attorney Search, 2011
  51. ↑ The Florida Bar Attorney Search, 2006
  52. ↑ DC Bar Attorney Search, 2008
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