Kinda gets them off the hook for everything, doesn't it?
The Alex Jones Sandy Hook show trial is the same issue.
The propaganda press is immune from slander lawsuits, but Alex Jones is guilty and not even allowed to say he is not guilty.
Essentially, it appears the judge held, noting is factual, anything can be stated as an opinion, even when there is clear, direct video evidence to the contrary, easily available.
I may need to read this opinion.
Three already settled, so nick is still well fixed. These are additional suits.
A Peanut Farmer appointee.
OMG, not the antagonizing smiling!
Perhaps he should have used a 14" stick of 1/2" rebar instead of that antagonizing smiling.
.
I thought he had already won a ton of money. Anyway, I guess all these A holes ever have to say, is that it was our opinion, and that makes it ok. What A holes.
Words never mattered. Words are a sucker’s game.
This judgment seems ridiculous on its face. It appears designed to protect the MSM with little basis in actual law.
I am not aware of any law that allows a news org to lie and slander if a news org claims it is our opinion and we are entitled to it.
On an Opinion Show this is a valid argument. But, these libels were also engaged in on so-called MSM Hard News programming. An appeal of this judgment is very likely.
Carter judge.
86 year old POS has been feeding at the public trough for almost 43 years.
Maybe he got enough out of this case to retire comfortably.
Don’t soil your robe there ass wipe, it’s only my opinion
He was a teenager, under 18, and they plastered his face and called him a racist all around the world.
They weren't media assertions, they were intentional propaganda.
The LAAP-dog media had access to the full video, and were able to see the entirety of the events, but chose to run a snippet that isolated Sandmann and nobody else.
That was opinion, that was malfeasance.
-PJ
As usual, the most ignorant comments are made by those who have apparently not read the Judge’s ruling.
Not surprised.
So, then how do people get to go after Alex Jones for his opinion on the Sandy Hook school shooting? It was just his opinion.
It appears that Judge William Bertelsman is getting a new beach house.
5.56mm
Our libel laws were written so they could check the box and say, ok we have one, but they high are extremely hard to win.
Appointed by Jimmah Cahtah. IOW: A real loser.
Thanks so much to that bunny beating buffoon Jimmuh.
For example, a declarative statement that “Judge William Bertelsman is a pedophile” is actionable if it is untrue.
Not at all. Liberal Judge covering for liberal media. The judge’s decision will early be reversed on appeal and the case assigned to a different judge.
Not a lawyer, but I have read every SCOTUS decision on defamation from the last 50+ years. Reversal is pretty much a slam dunk.
A judge calling the defamation an opinion and claiming opinions are not actionable is not the law.
These media personnel were claiming he is a racist. Publishing stuff the is untrue or with a blatant disregard for the truth of the matter makes the publisher liable, even moreso when the potential plaintiff demands a retraction and the potential defendants don’t provide one.
The media outlets that settled knew they defamed Sandmann and chose to pay rather than risk huge damage verdicts in a trial.
This is not over, not by a long shot. Even if the 6th circuit upholds the District Court Judge, this is a case that the SCOTUS may very well accept for review. 3-4 Justices have made it known they are interested in reconsidering the Sullivan v. NY Times case.