We don't often participate in songs of praise here at Gawker, but we do want to suggest that if you missed last week's three-part "Broken Bench" series in the New York Times you head immediately to the paper's website and print out all three parts for your train ride home. Sure, there's a certain Pulitzer-bait feel to this investigation of upstate's corrupt and incompetent courthouses, but it's incredibly well-reported and pretty horrific in a way that the best kind of journalism should be. Writer William Glaberson and the NYT deserve commendation for the effort. Trust us on this one: You'll never feel better about living here in town, where justice is dispensed fairly and equitably.

In Tiny Courts of N.Y., Abuses of Law and Power
"You Learn by Mistakes"
"Nothing Gets Done" [NYT]