Posted on 12/12/2007 7:35:45 AM PST by SmithL
Olympic park security guard Richard Jewell's long-standing libel suit against The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is over for now.
State Court Judge John R. Mather on Tuesday dismissed the final claim that remained in Jewell's suit against the newspaper, said AJC attorney Peter Canfield. Mather had dismissed all but one of 22 claims in 2006.
"We are pleased by the judge's ruling," AJC Publisher John Mellott said Tuesday, "which affirms what we always knew — that our reporting of the Centennial Olympic bombing investigation was fair, responsible and accurate."
The case has taken 11 years to resolve, and it might be resurrected if Jewell's attorneys file an appeal.
"This should end the matter," Canfield said. "... We'll have to see what they do next."
Attorney Lin Wood, who represented Jewell, could not be contacted. In the judge's ruling, however, it appears Jewell's attorneys will keep fighting, stating that the case is "ripe for appeal."
"Numerous potential errors throughout the eleven year history of this case will eventually be subject to appeal following trial," the plaintiffs wrote.
Jewell, 44, died in August from a heart attack. After his death, one of Jewell's attorneys, G. Watson Bryant, was named the plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Jewell and his attorneys unsuccessfully tried to take the libel suit to the Georgia Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
The lawsuit revolved around the AJC's reporting of Jewell as a suspect in the Olympic park bombing investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
My guess is that the main reason it was dismissed is that Jewell is dead, not because their reporting was accurate.
What the FBI and the media did to this man is a warning to us all.
The single most dangerous entity our government has ever created was the FBI folks, not the IRS.
His lawyer ain’t dead. That’s the point.
AJC ping.
Usually a libel claim disappears when the plaintiff dies, though.
My guess would be that the AJC wields a lot more influence in Atlanta than an attorney. The "news" paper crucified this guy. Held his life up to ridicule and humiliation. If McDonalds gets to pay millions because some moronic woman dumped hot coffee on herself, then the paper should pay for the malicious destruction of a guys life.
Not if there is a lawyer waiting to be paid by the estate
I agree. What was done to Jewell was despicable.
They are in a dead heat, but that is not the point. This is the inevitable result of trusting any agency with enormous powers. One problem is that few self-respecting individuals are willing to enter government service at the bottom rungs of regulatory enforcement, yet the way thing work in government enormous power devolves on these low level employees, often of very modest education and achievement. Where it is not corrupt it is incompetent, which is worse.
As our founding fathers have warned us on multiple occasions, when we surrender a bit of liberty for security we get neither. It isn't new. The history of Europe as seen by our 18th century intellectual giants illustrated the problem in spades. Modern bureacracy is not actually modern at all.
‘The single most dangerous entity our government has ever created was the FBI folks, not the IRS.’
‘They are in a dead heat, but that is not the point. ‘
If the IRS was in a position to change ROE on a whim, I’d agree.
They aren’t.
*****************
I'd forgotten how young he was. Sad.
BATF
BATF if FBI ‘lite’.
The law is different in every state, but the common law is that a dead man can’t maintain an action for defamation. That’s why the tabloids go nuts with all kinds of defamatory stuff once someone dies.
Maybe in GA, the law only states that you have to be alive at the time the defamatory statement was made. I guess that would not surprise me too much.
This case is why the term, “person of interest” is now often used instead of “suspect.”
The problem wasn’t the AJC’s reporting, but the information the crooked Justice Department gave them. They always referred to him as only a “suspect,” which was what he was at the time thanks to some malfeasance on the part of the DOJ. Commentators stated he did it, but the actual reporting simply said “suspect.”
The fact is he was a suspect, even though he shouldn’t have been. The villain here isn’t the paper that reported the situation at the time but the screw-ups who created the situation.
Why, that’s... Brilliant.
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Why the smart money is on Duncan Hunter
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926032/posts
I hope Richard Jewell is in Heaven enjoying his divine reward. Those who harmed him and destroyed his name will pay in full on Judgment Day.
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