Patrick G. Lee

Reporting Fellow

Patrick Lee is a reporting fellow at ProPublica. Heâs interested in documentary film and in social and legal issues surrounding race, gender and sexuality. He spent two years reporting investigative legal stories for Bloomberg News, covering everything from age discrimination in the restaurant industry to illicit debt-collection schemes and allegedly deadly highway guardrails. His reporting has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CNN.com. Patrick graduated from Yale with a degree in ethics, politics and economics.

Immigrants in Detention Centers Are Often Hundreds of Miles From Legal Help

Only a tiny percentage of detained immigrants have attorneys, leaving even those with solid cases to stay in the United States to fend for themselves.

Crime Lab Scandal Forces Prosecutors to Disavow Thousands of Drug Convictions

A final ruling by Massachusetts Supreme Court would erase convictions but not undo the harm caused by a corrupt state chemist.

Can Customs and Border Officials Search Your Phone? These Are Your Rights

Recent detentions and seizures of phones and other material from travelers to the United States have sparked alarm. We detail what powers Customs and Border Protection officials have over you and your devices.

Concern Sparked by Recent Changes to a Department of Energy Website for Kids

Officials at the Energy Information Administration say deletions and altered wording regarding coal and fracking just routine updates.

Claims of ‘Homosexual Agenda’ Help Kill Hate Crimes Laws in 5 States

Some Christian groups have no problem protecting people from crimes driven by racial or religious hatred. They just draw the line at sexual orientation.

After NY Cop Salutes Violence Against Anti-Trump Protester, His Online Post Comes Under Review

An anti-Trump marcher got punched in the face. A Port Authority cop posted “Grow up bitches and get a job.” The department’s inspector general gets a referral.

Massachusetts Top Court Orders Prosecutors to Remedy Thousands of Tainted Drug Convictions

Thousands of potential victims. Years of delay. Now, action in cases involving a corrupt crime lab chemist.

An Ocean Apart, But United in Concerns About Hate Crimes

The violence in Great Britain after the Brexit vote might hold lessons for America.

EPA Concludes Fracking a Threat to U.S. Water Supplies

The EPA’s finding, endorsed by environmentalists, comes as the Trump administration prepares to rethink regulation of the gas drilling industry.

Could Programs to Help Undocumented Immigrants Gain Driver’s Licenses Backfire?

Advocates fear that programs in a dozen states might be used by a Trump administration to bolster deportations aims.

Thousands of Potentially Wrongful Convictions; Years of Delayed Action

Four years after a Massachusetts crime lab chemist confessed to tainting evidence, more than 20,000 defendants still don’t know if their drug convictions will stand.

Trump’s Call for a Flood of Poll Watchers Could Disrupt Some Voting Places

In all but four states, private citizens can challenge someone’s right to cast a ballot on or before Election Day. In most places, the burden of proof then falls on the voter.

Who Makes Sure Hospital Mergers Do No Harm? Almost Nobody.

A new report finds inadequate state oversight of hospital mergers.

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