Clear Eyed Media

02/26/2026

Attorney Peter Janci has spent nearly 20 years representing survivors of s*xual abuse. In this clip, he discusses the critical blind spot many parents have and why early action is so important, even if nothing turns out to be wrong.

(Link to full podcast episode in the comments).

01/28/2026

Boys promised medical care instead met a "predator in a white coat."

And the abuse went on for decades.

Attorney Peter Janci describes conditions that led to an $18 million settlement in a child s*x abuse case against the federal government. It was part of $32.5 million paid to at least 20 victims.

In the latest episode of the Make Your Case podcast, Janci explains why enablers, not just the abuser, were to blame, how 170-year-old treaties played a part in the case, and what ultimately moved legal decision-makers.

Janci is based in Portland, Oregon. He's represented s*xual abuse survivors for nearly two decades.

Link to the full episode is in the comments.

01/21/2026

“The word 'betrayal' I don't think is strong enough."

That's how attorney Peter Janci describes conditions that led to an $18 million settlement in a child s*x abuse case against the federal government. It was part of $32.5 million paid to at least 20 victims.

In the latest episode of the Make Your Case podcast, Janci explains how 170-year-old treaties played a part in the case, why early notice is critical and the red flags parents should take seriously to help prevent abuse.

Janci, based in Portland, Oregon, has represented survivors of s*xual abuse for nearly two decades.

Link to the full episode is in the comments.

12/02/2025

Just broke another story in The Shoestring, an investigative news site covering western Massachusetts.

This one combines my passion for journalism and legal storytelling.

(Link in the comments.)

10/23/2025

It was great talking with Tim Semelroth. I learned a ton, and his thoughts on self-driving trucks were eye-opening.

Most people don’t realize trucking companies start defending themselves within hours of a crash. On the Make Your Case podcast by Clear Eyed Media, attorney Tim Semelroth explains how rapid-response defense works—and what it takes to fight back. Watch the full interview here: https://vist.ly/4ais3

10/23/2025

How one body-cam video turned into an accountability story.

I fought for months to get the footage, filing appeals with the district attorney’s office and winning after police refused to release it.

After that, I paid a $210 bill for the video from an agency that publicly claimed to “believe in transparency.”

It showed an off-duty deputy who admitted to drinking, fell to the ground, vomited, and blacked out, then, after being given no blood-alcohol test, was sent home without a charge.

It also had more than a dozen silent gaps where the officer’s mic appeared to be turned off, even though department policy required continuous recording.
That became the story.

I built the video package by cross-referencing the footage, redaction logs, department policy, and Oregon law to show how the record didn’t match the official explanation.

The result: the district attorney’s office referred the case to the Oregon Department of Justice for review.

These days, I work with a professional camera crew and editing setup to help attorneys do the same thing in their own way: build fact-based visual stories that expose what really happened.

That mindset never changed. Whether it’s journalism or law, the truth only matters if you can prove it.

If you’d like to see what that looks like on screen, I can show examples in a private, no-obligation meeting.

10/14/2025

“Good jury selection is like good therapy.”

That line from Tim Semelroth stood out to me in the latest episode of Clear Eyed Media's Make Your Case podcast.

Tim is a respected trial attorney in Iowa with more than 25 years of experience litigating truck crash and commercial vehicle cases.

We talked about the costly mistakes lawyers often make in trucking litigation, why these cases shouldn't be treated like car crashes, and how a family member’s observation in court likely changed the outcome of a case.

You can watch the full episode through the link in the comments.

08/20/2025

A $100 million verdict almost didn’t happen because a temp worker had co***ne in his system.

Keeping that fact out of the trial was key to a historic outcome in a case that left a man paralyzed.

That was just one twist in the story of the largest bodily injury verdict in Connecticut history.

There was also an alleged corporate cover-up undone by what was found in a trash can, and a visual tool that proved critical to winning the case.

In this episode of Make Your Case, I spoke with Andrew Garza, Alexa Mahony, and Andrew Ranks about the strategy, the turning points, and the lessons for trial lawyers.

🎧 Full episode link in the comments.

07/24/2025

"I cry every night."

Words that haunt me as a legal storyteller from a case that shows, in a raw and harrowing way, the kind of work I do.

It’s what a mother told me when I reported this story about her daughter dying in jail, and the $650,000 wrongful death settlement that followed.

I produced this TV report as a journalist in one day in 2017. Today, I create settlement documentaries, which are often longer, that help attorneys present the full human impact of a case.

The report has:
✔️ A clear timeline
✔️ Real people telling their own story
✔️ Documented facts that are impossible to ignore

I can’t share examples of my work for Clear Eyed Media. They’re used in private mediation. But I can share this.

If you’re a trial lawyer and want to talk about using video in your next case, which can boost leverage and settlements, feel free to reach out.

07/18/2025

Biting, hitting, and even s*xual misconduct didn’t get teachers fired in the Sunshine State. But using a student’s preferred name did.

That’s not hyperbole. It’s what I found in disciplinary records across Florida.

Teachers who struck students, made graphic s*xual comments, took nonconsensual photos, or failed to report abuse? They kept teaching, some for years.

But Melissa Calhoun, a high school teacher who used a student’s preferred name without written parental consent?

She lost her job. Her teaching license is now under review.

This wasn’t an outlier. It’s a pattern.

I combed through state documents, misconduct complaints, and official reprimands to tell the full story. And what emerged was a troubling picture of misplaced enforcement priorities.

I do this work because I’ll always be passionate about investigative journalism. It drives me, and it’s why I’m effective at helping lawyers build leverage and boost settlements. When you show institutions what you’ve found and what you can prove on camera, things change.

Read the full investigation here:
https://discrepancyreport.com/florida-teacher-fired-for-name-use-others-kept-jobs-after-abuse/?zp_reload=a2116dad-d573-46f9-8a3a-323b0753a782

If your case needs a storyteller who can dig, verify, and make the facts hit harder, reach out. I make legal videos your opponents don't want anyone to see.

Biting, hitting, and even s*xual misconduct didn't get teachers fired in the Sunshine State. But using a student's preferred name did.

07/18/2025

Remembering a genuinely messed-up discovery I made this Throwback Thursday:

In Oregon, there is no agency that holds police accountable when they violate body-worn camera laws.

That’s not a gap. That’s by design.

I broke this story after uncovering what happened during a late-night traffic stop involving an off-duty deputy.

He admitted to drinking, vomited, fell, and blacked out, yet was never given a blood alcohol test, not arrested, and not charged.

Two officers gave him fist bumps. Another drove his car to a gas station. Then they drove him home, along with his gun and backpack.

The police department fought hard to keep the footage hidden. I fought back, and won. They released one video, but they’re still demanding nearly $1,700 for two more.

I made a short video to show what actually happened, and how Oregon’s lack of oversight helped make it possible.

Watch the footage. Read the full investigation:

👉 https://discrepancyreport.com/body-cam-video-shows-police-release-off-duty-deputy-after-he-vomits-falls-blacks-out-and-admits-to-drinking-during-traffic-stop/

If your legal team or newsroom needs help telling hard stories that get results, I’m Joe Douglass, founder of Clear Eyed Media.

Let’s talk.

The deputy was not given a blood alcohol content (BAC) test during the incident in Newberg, Oregon. The police department released the footage of the first responding officer after the district attorney’s office ordered the agency to honor a public records request. Police charged Discrepancy Repor...