Free Republic

On the 39th anniversary of the 1975 slaying of Greenwich teenager Martha Moxley, the Kennedy scion accused of her murder is set to settle a slander lawsuit against television host Nancy Grace. In a stipulation of settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford on Wednesday, legal counsel for Michael Skakel agreed to drop his case against the HLN pundit and fellow legal commentator Beth Karas for comments they made in a 2012 broadcast about DNA evidence near the scene of the crime. HLN parent companies Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting System were also named in the defamation suit and...

NEW YORK (AP) - Author Dominick Dunne, who told stories of shocking crimes among the rich and famous through his magazine articles and best-selling novels such as "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles," died Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 83. Actor-director Griffin Dunne said in a statement released by Vanity Fair that his father had been battling bladder cancer for some time. But the cancer did not prevent Dunne from working and socializing, his twin passions.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has thrown out former California Congressman Gary Condit's defamation lawsuit against author Dominick Dunne, extending the one-time lawmaker's costly courtroom losing streak over rumors of his relationship to murdered intern Chandra Levy. In a 22-page opinion issued Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Peter Leisure summarily dismissed Condit's suit and ruled the First Amendment as well as California law protected Dunne's expressions of opinion. The ruling further shrinks Condit's legal maneuvering room. "I'm just delighted," Dunne's attorney Paul LiCalsi said Tuesday. "This was an abusive lawsuit all along." (snip) The new ruling comes one year after...

[Excerpt from Dunne's latest Vanity Fair column:]In 1999, when I was covering the impeachment of President Clinton for this magazine, I wrote about the appalling manners of Congressman Tom DeLay during Clinton’s State of the Union speech. I reported the smirk on his face and the fact that he didn’t stand when the president entered the chamber. Well, fair’s fair. I have stuck by Hillary Clinton through thick and thin, despite the consternation this caused several of my friends. But she lost me on September 20 with her appalling manners during President Bush’s magnificent speech to Congress and the nation. ...

Former California Rep. Gary Condit must answer embarrassing questions about his sex life with Chandra Levy and other women as part of his defamation suit against crime author Dominick Dunne, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Manhattan District Judge Peter Leisure also said Condit must disclose information about his personal finances as part of the discovery in the suit. [snip] Leisure said Condit couldn't have it both ways — sue Dunne and then prevent the defendants from cross-examining thoroughly for facts. "Unfortunately for plaintiff, he opened that door himself by filing this lawsuit," Leisure said. "The court cannot allow plaintiffs...

Former Congressman's Defamation Suit Against Columnist Goes Forward Mark Hamblett New York Law Journal 04-28-2004 A federal judge has refused to dismiss a slander suit brought by former California Congressman Gary Condit for statements made by columnist Dominick Dunne about the disappearance and death of Chandra Levy. Southern District of New York Judge Peter K. Leisure said Tuesday that Condit has asserted enough facts to survive dismissal, based on comments Dunne made about the Levy case on three national talk shows and at dinner parties where he regaled guests with rumors concerning the congressman. "This action brings the Court to...

The war of words between Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Vanity Fair scribe Dominick Dunne rages on and now Dunne is accusing Kennedy of inaccuracies, distortions, Monday-morning quarterbacking - and worse - in the wake of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's murder conviction. In case you missed it, Kennedy wrote an 18-page, 14,000-word defense of his beleaguered kin in the Atlantic Monthly last month, accusing Dunne and O.J. Simpson case detective Mark Fuhrman of leading a media lynch mob that helped convict an innocent man. Dunne fires back in the latest issue of VF, on the stands today, saying the long-winded diatribe...