Posted on 07/15/2013 8:25:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Apart from what the Department of Justice might decide to do with George Zimmerman, there remains one piece of unfinished legal business from the sensationalized case — what to do with the sensationalizer. The death of Trayvon Martin might have fallen under the media spotlight over what it meant for the definition of self-defense and the limits of community-watch programs even without the overtones of race. After NBC selectively edited Zimmerman’s call to police, though, that angle overtook all other aspects of the case, and many other unrelated crime stories with a little more national significance.
With the acquittal behind them, Zimmerman and his legal team plan to push their lawsuit against NBC “ASAP”:
According to Zimmerman attorney James Beasley, the case against NBC News was stayed pending the outcome of the criminal case. Now that’s out of the way, and Beasley is ready to proceed. “We’re going to start in earnest asap, we just have to get the stay lifted which is a ministerial act,” says Beasley, a Philadelphia lawyer, via e-mail.
When asked how the not-guilty verdict affects the civil case against NBC News, Beasley responded, “This verdict of not guilty is just that, and shows that at least this jury didn’t believe that George was a racist, profiling, or anything that the press accused George of being. That probably doesn’t get you that much but it’s simply time for us to start the case and hold accountable anyone who was irresponsible in their journalism.”
NBC had earlier declared that a jury verdict in the case would vindicate their journalism:
The company also noted the pivotal nature of the second-degree murder case: “[I]f Zimmerman is convicted, that fact alone will constitute substantial evidence that the destruction of his reputation is the result of his own criminal conduct, and not of the broadcasts at issue which, like countless other news reports disseminated by media entities throughout the country, reported on the underlying events.”
D’oh! As Erik Wemple dryly notes, “That formulation is now null.” It’s a curious defense anyway. Surely an objective news report should stand on its own without relying on a criminal trial’s jury to rescue it, no?
Variety’s analyst thinks that Zimmerman’s status as a public figure will protect NBC in court, as well as a lack of ability to show malice:
In December, Zimmerman sued NBC, reporter Ron Allen and two other news personnel on claims that the network’s edits of his 911 call to police were manipulated to make it sound like he was a racist. The Florida judge in Zimmerman’s case, Debra Nelson, put the defamation case on hold pending the result of the criminal trial.
Jody Armour, professor at USC’s Gould School of Law, said that although it is “possible” that Zimmerman’s claim against the network will be strengthened, it “may not have a big impact because he has to prove actual malice if he is trying to prove defamation.”
He believes that Zimmerman “is almost certainly going to fall into the classification” of a public figure, raising the bar for plaintiffs, in that they have to prove knowledge that they knew that the information was false or had reckless disregard for the truth.
In a defamation trial, however, NBC can say that the not guilty verdict “has limited probative value as far as establishing a claim that they acted with actual malice toward him, that they acted with actual indifference to the truth,” Armour said. The point is that a defamation trial would have to do with the circumstances at the time the story aired.
There are a couple of problems with this defense. First, the media doesn’t get protection when their libelous reporting creates a “public figure.” Zimmerman did not set out to make himself a public figure — he holds no elective office, and didn’t publicize his efforts at neighborhood-watch security. He was entirely obscure before the shooting, and only NBC’s false report made him into a national figure.
Second, if the Zimmerman team wants to show malice at NBC News, all they have to do is play MSNBC’s coverage of the trial and especially the acquittal. The anger and malice (and even more misinformation) didn’t just come from guest panelists on their coverage, it came from MSNBC’s hosts, paid by NBC News. The phrase “shooting fish in a barrel” comes to mind when proving this particular aspect of the case.
If Zimmerman’s legal team is moving ASAP to get the case to trial, NBC’s lawyers should be moving ASAP to get the check cut for the settlement. Don’t expect that to take very long, either.
He should also go after CNN for revealing his social security number.
May those lawyers make tons of money from the sleazenetworks.
And may Zimmerman make even more.
Screw ‘em...screw ‘em often, and screw ‘em well.
Rest.
Then screw ‘em again.
Sue them for 879.3 billion dollars please.
He should close down the company, just a democrat mouth piece.
He should go after Nancy Grace for being a race baiter that incites hate.
“There are a couple of problems with this defense. First, the media doesn’t get protection when their libelous reporting creates a “public figure.” Zimmerman did not set out to make himself a public figure — he holds no elective office, and didn’t publicize his efforts at neighborhood-watch security. He was entirely obscure before the shooting, and only NBC’s false report made him into a national figure.”
This is the Menedez Defense, “Because we killed our parents, we are now orphans” Go George! Sue everyone connected with this injustice!
It is the old what they knew and when the knew it. If Zimmerman can prove that they knew about the extent of his injuries and did not report it, they have a case for reckless disregard.
Go for it.
RE: Sue them for 879.3 billion dollars please.
Hey, that’s nearly a quarter of America’s budget.
It’s going to hinge on whether Zimmerman was a “public figure” at the time he was defamed. If so, he could actually still win, because what they did looks intentional (actual malice, reckless disregard, etc...). If not, then it’s just a matter of negligence, which they have pretty much admitted.
Does anyone else find it troubling that a national media organization for profit can render a private citizen into a public figure and then claim immunity or at least limited liability because the citizen has become a public figure?
Even assuming that Zimmerman must pass the public figure hurdle, it seems self-evident that NBC knew this report was false because NBC made it false.
Richard Jewell beat them at that trick
I normally enjoy Nancy Grace but, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why she took such a hard line against Zimmerman in this case. Like most white commentators, I think she was simply afraid of being called racist if she didn't tow the line.
And now for something I never thought I'd hear myself say: Geraldo Rivera was the voice of reason Saturday night after the verdict was announced. He stated emphatically that this was not a Murder-2 case, and probably not even good for Manslaughter. He also took Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to task (multiple times) for injecting race into a case that was never about race.
So NBC needs to provide on what date GZ became a public figure and why.
Could be fun.
Actually Zimmerman can use something else in his suit. He can use the pattern by which over the years NBC came about being the leftwng agenda, incompetent boobs that cannot report themselves out of a paper bag.
Great point!
http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154795
One hopes that Mr. Zimmerman is successful in crippling this bunch of thugs and drives the company into bankruptcy liquidation.
I think I heard that Grace lost a fiancé to a killer. I would almost bet that the killer used a gun.
Grace made a disgraceful comment about how awful it was that Zimmerman carried a gun; and that the gun was loaded!.
I think the answer to your question is that Grace is ANTI-GUN, plain and simple. Like many liberals, she probably believes that if nobody had guns, the world would be a better place. She seems totally unable to grasp the concept that, without a gun, Zimmerman might well have been murdered by Martin.
The sacrifice of Zimmerman's life would be a small price to pay for the utopia she imagines.
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