RMN - Arndt Appeal

Discussion in 'Justice for JonBenet Discussion - Public Forum' started by RiverRat, May 6, 2003.

  1. RiverRat

    RiverRat FFJ Sr. Member Extraordinaire (Pictured at Lef

    Arndt exhausts appeals
    By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
    May 6, 2003

    Linda Arndt, the first detective to respond when JonBenet Ramsey was reported missing, has lost the final battle in a campaign challenging her treatment by Boulder Police Department brass.

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Arndt's case, in which she claimed her free speech rights were violated when superiors blocked her attempts to publicly defend her performance in the star-crossed Ramsey investigation.

    Arndt's federal lawsuit against former Boulder police Chief Tom Koby, current Chief Mark Beckner and the city of Boulder was heard in U.S. District Court in Denver in June 2001. It was dismissed midtrial before the police presented evidence to counter Arndt's claims.

    Now, coming on top of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals' subsequent decision Oct. 31 to uphold the trial court's dismissal, the high court's refusal to hear her appeal means the former detective has exhausted her legal options.

    "We're gratified that it's over and that the decisions made by the trial court and the 10th Circuit have been basically upheld," said Leslie Schluter, an attorney representing the defendants.

    Arndt and her attorney could not be reached for comment.

    Arndt, 42, was the first detective inside the Ramseys' home the morning of Dec. 26, 1996, after Patsy Ramsey reported finding a 2 ½-page ransom note demanding $118,000 for the safe return of her daughter, 6-year-old JonBenet.

    She was also the lone detective in the house seven hours later. That's when John Ramsey, accompanied by family friend Fleet White, re-searched the family's Boulder residence - at Arndt's suggestion - and discovered JonBenet's body behind the closed door of a small basement storage area.

    The child beauty queen had suffered a skull fracture and had been strangled with a garotte. The crime remains unsolved.

    Arndt claimed in her lawsuit that department superiors violated her rights with a gag order that barred her from discussing her handling of the case.

    And, because Koby and other commanders also did not publicly defend her, Arndt said the departmentwide gag order left her unable to shed the role of scapegoat in the beleaguered investigation.

    Koby said in a pretrial deposition that she was hardly alone in having been negatively affected by her involvement in the high-profile probe.




    brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or (303) 892-2742

    http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/ramsey/article/0,1299,DRMN_1296_1940140,00.html
     
  2. RiverRat

    RiverRat FFJ Sr. Member Extraordinaire (Pictured at Lef

    Denver Post

    Decision brings end to Arndt suit
    U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear former Boulder detective's case

    By Christine Reid, Camera Staff Writer
    May 6, 2003

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider whether a former Boulder police detective's free-speech rights were violated by a gag order that kept her from rebutting claims that she botched parts of the JonBenet Ramsey investigation.

    The decision put to rest a civil lawsuit that has cost the city thousands of dollars in legal fees after its filing in the spring of 1998. The suit was filed by Linda Arndt, who was the first officer on the scene when the 6-year-old's body was found in her parents' home on Dec. 26, 1996.

    It also marks the third and final attempt by Arndt to recover damages from supervisors who would not allow her to publicly rebut criticism. News reports said Arndt failed to immediately take statements from JonBenet's parents and that she allowed the girl's father, John Ramsey, to search the home without an accompanying police officer. He eventually found the girl's body and placed a blanket over her, possibly contaminating evidence.

    Arndt was removed from the case five months after the murder and resigned in 1999.

    "We're pleased that this case has finally come to an end," Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said. "We believe there were important principles at stake related to the ability of the department to maintain confidentiality in police investigations. The courts have upheld this principle, and that is what mattered most in this case."

    In October, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled that Arndt's wish to dispute critical news media reports was not a public concern. The ruling affirmed a lower court decision in 2001 that a police policy of limiting public information about an investigation was proper.

    Arndt declined to comment about Monday's ruling. Her attorney, A. Bruce Jones, did not return calls from the Daily Camera.

    Leslie L. Schluter, the attorney representing Boulder, said she had not been made aware of the high court's decision but said it was what she expected.

    The U.S. Supreme Court does not have to give a reason for its decision not to review a case, Schluter said, but it can be inferred that the appeal court's opinion last fall was proper and did not warrant a review.

    "It should be taken as the final word," Schluter said. "Linda Arndt's claims are gone and done."

    The criminal investigation into the Ramsey case has been turned over to the Boulder County District Attorney's office.

    Contact Christine Reid at (303) 473-1355 or reidc@thedailycamera.com.

    http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/city_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2422_1940936,00.html
     
  3. Adrian Monk

    Adrian Monk Member

    Is she still under the gag order now or can she discuss what she previously wanted to discuss?

    Hadn't she appeared on Geraldo, et al.?
     
  4. AK

    AK Member

    Not Geraldo

    As I recall, only Today and Dateline, for multiple-part shows.

    I have the same objection with her talking as I do Steve Thomas, as her eventual testimony will be compromised. But she had fewer dealings than he did, never profited from a book or other opportunity, and had a legitimate gripe in wanting to see her name cleared. I absolutely hate it when cop bosses let their underlings hang in the wind; it happened in the van Dam case too.
     
  5. Tez

    Tez Member

    She also

    appeared on Good Morning America and was interviewed by Elizabeth Vargas I believe.
     
  6. AK

    AK Member

    Tez is right

    It was PrimeTime Live, not Dateline.

    (I tried to edit but wasn't able to. Wassup with that???)
     
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