Powerful defamation lawsuit against Netflix and Ava DuVernay

In America, there are high hurdles to proving defamation. The Supreme Court has held that a public figure suing for defamation must demonstrate clearly and convincingly that the defamatory statement was made with “actual malice” (defined as misrepresentation or reckless disregard of the truth). He said that it must be proven by some evidence. “Reckless” means not paying any attention.

Most such claims are dismissed before trial. This is especially true when it comes to expressive works such as films and novels. However, in some cases, the plaintiff may know enough to stand up to a jury.

A federal judge in Manhattan recently addressed these concepts in the David vs. Goliath case. In a landmark ruling against Netflix, the court denied the defense’s motion to dismiss and announced that prominent sex crimes prosecutor and mystery author Linda Fairstein will have her day in court. handed down the verdict.

The lawsuit stems from the 2019 Netflix series “When They See Us,” which was touted as “based on the true story of the Central Park Five.” The series ominously depicts Fairstein, identified in the film by his real name, as the central villain in a plan to imprison the innocent Five at all costs.

The series depicts the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of five young men accused of beating and raping 29-year-old female jogger Patricia Meili in Central Park in 1989. The series also deals with his 2002 conviction being vacated. A serial rapist named Matias Reyes came forward and claimed sole responsibility for the crime. Corroborating Reyes’ confession was that his DNA matched samples taken from Meili’s cervix, socks, and other personal items.

The series was full of falsehoods, especially regarding Fairstein.

On the night of April 19, 1989, a group of approximately 30 teenage boys gathered in the northeast section of Central Park and indiscriminately beat and harassed bicyclists, joggers, taxis, and pedestrians. That same night, Meili was found assaulted and raped in a coma near the 102nd Street intersection in the park.

Five teenagers were charged and became known as the “Central Park Five”: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Corey Wise. They were convicted of criminal acts related to this case in 1990, and the court imposed heavy sentences. When questioned by authorities several days after the attack, each of the five admitted to some degree of involvement in the assault and rape, but none admitted to being the person who raped Meili. New York courts upheld the confession as free and voluntary.

At the time, Fairstein was an experienced and highly regarded prosecutor in the office of legendary New York District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, having headed Morgenthau’s sex crimes unit for decades. Fairstein learned of the case and consulted with Morgenthau about who should be in charge of the case. Morgenthau assigned the matter to Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Lederer, who tried murder cases and also handled cases for the sex crimes unit.

Fairstein visited the police station where the defendants were interrogated on the night of April 20 and remained there for approximately 32 hours. There is no suggestion that she personally interrogated individual suspects, and that interrogations were primarily carried out by police officers. Fairstein did not indict the five people. She testified as her fact witness in trials and suppression hearings.

Academy Award-nominated writer, director, and producer Ava DuVernay was the “showrunner” of the Netflix series and the leader of the Netflix team. She directed series producers to research materials for the writing staff, including published books and articles, interviews with the five and their families, court records, videos and transcripts of the five’s interrogations, and contemporary news reports. did.

There are five scenes in the series in which Fairstein is portrayed as a docudrama Svengali-like puppeteer leading the investigation. She is believed to have ordered police not to use “kid gloves” on the five men and to round up “young black men.”[s]In the harem. The main character, played by Fairstein, enjoys the “surprise” of devising a “one-size-fits-all” timeline for Meiri’s rape case on his own and conducting a DNA test “right before the trial” without the defense attorney’s knowledge. This is all false and was not found anywhere in the research materials.

In the final scene of the docudrama, Fairstein is questioned over lunch by prosecutor Nancy Ryan about having “coerced” the quintet into making false confessions. In real life, Netflix knew that there was no mention of Fairstein in Ryan’s affirmative filed in support of his motion to vacate his conviction. Furthermore, we do not believe that the police or prosecutors involved in the original investigation committed any illegal acts. Ryan’s conversation was a Netflix invention. DuVernay admitted in his deposition and text message that he meant it as a “message” to Linda and everything she wanted to say.

Malice in defamation cases against public figures does not imply actual malice. However, the condition is that the statement is not reckless. Fairstein claims that Netflix and DuVernay paid little or no attention to whether it was all true or false. Their motivation was simply to tell a good story. And every good story needs a villain.

After the series was released, Fairstein suffered significant reputational damage. She lost her publisher and her agent, and she was forced to resign from the various boards she had previously served on.as coup d’etat, Prior to the series’ release, series co-writer Attica Locke posted a series of tweets in which she announced that the Mystery Writers of America would be scheduled for their 2019 banquet due to her role in the Central Park Jogging Incident. He argued that Fairstein should not be recognized with the same award. The award was withheld.

Locke co-wrote the scene about the “surprise DNA test.” During her deposition, she admitted that the scene was “fabricated.”

Jurors will now find that Netflix’s decision to make Ms. Fairstein the central “villain” was unsupported by the substantial amount of original material used by the show’s writers, and that it was not supported by the substantial amount of original material used by the show’s writers, which led to the conclusion that her unprofessional and even illegal conduct. It is necessary to judge whether or not it was reckless to impose such restrictions.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Netflix settled this lawsuit.

Author and legal analyst James D. Gillin is a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. He is also a highly regarded public television talk show and podcast host. Conversation with Jim Gillin.