Fox News Claims Edge in JonBenet Libel Suit Ruling

Discussion in 'Justice for JonBenet Discussion - Public Forum' started by Little, Dec 20, 2004.

  1. Little

    Little Member

    Fox News Claims Edge in JonBenet Libel Suit Ruling
    Mon Dec 20, 2004 04:31 PM ET

    By Judith Crosson

    DENVER (Reuters) - Attorneys for Fox News declared partial victory on Monday in a libel suit launched by the parents of JonBenet Ramsey, just days before the eighth anniversary of the murder of the child beauty queen.

    While there have been a number of civil suits connected to the case no one has ever been charged in the murder of the girl whose body was discovered on the morning of Dec. 26, 1996, in the family's home in Boulder, Colorado.

    A federal judge on Monday ruled that Colorado law, with its cap on damages and higher standard of proof, will apply in a libel lawsuit against Fox News brought by the girl's parents.

    The story of the grisly murder of the 6-year-old who starred in beauty contests and her wealthy parents once gripped America and was a constant focus of talk radio and cable TV.

    "This is a significant victory for Fox News," the company's attorney Dori Ann Hanswirth told reporters after a hearing in Denver on whether the suit should be dismissed. U.S. District Judge Phillip Figa will rule later on a motion to dismiss the suit by the network, which is ultimately owned by News Corp. Inc. .

    Colorado law would set a cap on damages of $1 million for each plaintiff and also require that the higher standard of "actual malice" rather than negligence be proven, she said. Hanswirth said the network would not settle the case. The Ramseys had wanted the laws of Georgia, where the family lived at the time of the broadcast, to apply because it would have been more favorable to them.

    John and Patsy Ramsey and their son Burke sued Fox last year for libel for a December 2002 report on the sixth anniversary of JonBenet's murder in Boulder, Colorado.

    The Ramseys, who now live in Michigan, said the report libeled them because reporter Carol McKinley said the parents and JonBenet's brother Burke were the only ones in the home the night of the murder, and that "there has never been any evidence to link an intruder to her brutal murder."

    Fox counters that other information in the same TV report noted that Burke had been cleared, and that a new district attorney was going to bring "fresh eyes" to the investigation and that the probe was moving away from the Ramseys and toward "new leads and potential suspects." A news report must be looked at in its entirety, it says.

    The Ramseys were a constant target and at one point even the police said they were under "an umbrella of suspicion."

    The Ramseys' attorney, Lin Wood, said the TV report was at least ambiguous, meaning that a jury -- and not a judge in a pre-trial hearing -- should decide if the report was libelous.

    John Ramsey, who was in the courtroom, said later that Christmastime remains painful for the family. "It brings back emotions that are off the radar screen," he said.
     
  2. Tricia

    Tricia Administrator Staff Member

    For Fox's sake I am sorry the case was not dismissed. However, I am glad the Ramseys will be held to a higher state of proof.

    This should be interesting.
     
  3. VP

    VP Member

    Yeah!

    Hanswirth said the network would not settle the case.

    PLEASE say it's so!!! :highfive:
     
  4. Deja Nu

    Deja Nu Banned

    Please, please believe me when I say that not dismissing this case is going to lead to what we have all been hoping, praying, working and pulling our hair out for. Please, Judge Figa, don't let JonBenet down.

    Application of CO law is just in this matter and we can score a HUGE loss for Lin Woody on this one.

    Muy congrats to Fox!!! :takeabow:

    And thanks to my buddy, Little, for posting this! :jumpie:
     
  5. Watching You

    Watching You Superior Bee Admin

    I don't want this case dismissed. I want it to go to court and I want FOX to blow this cesspool of a case wide open, expose the lies, the corruption - I want Lin Wood to finally have to back up all the spin he's been able to get away with so far.

    I didn't think FOX would back down. I hope they take this all the way.
     
  6. BobC

    BobC Poster of the EON - Fabulous Inimitable Transcript

    I'm with you, WY--unfortunately FOX is in a defensive position so it's not likely that the R's or Wood will suffer anything other than wasted time
     
  7. Little

    Little Member

    Well, I may be way off, but this does not seem to be about money to FOX, it seems to be a matter of principle and backing up their team. I don't see this as being about anything but money to the Ramseys...well, money and bullying (is bullying a word?).

    Little
     
  8. Show Me

    Show Me FFJ Senior Member

    It's a miracle!!!!! Fox declaring they won't settle. :highfive:

    If Fox merely scratches the surface of the evidence, Fox will have the Rams by the short hairs. Rich and powerful, Fox is paying the creme de la creme of attorneys to represent them against Woody and his Scam artist clients.
     
  9. Deja Nu

    Deja Nu Banned

    Fox won't settle-they've been saying it all along, it's not news. And I agree with Little, it's a matter of principal for them and probably they're as sick of seeing media outlets cave in to Woodster's abusive bullying as we are.

    And I agree with WY. This case needs to run the full gamut. There are still heavyweight powers in CO who still believe the Ramseys are good for it and took a horrid public trouncing by Lin Wood and the Ramseys. And this case is now sitting right smack in the middle of payback country with payback law applicable to all Ramsey claims.There's payback due and Woody and his clients should not have left CO in public shambles in 2000. What goes around comes around, and the chickens have finally come home to roost. I would not want to be in their shoes.

    If Figa rules against Fox and doesn't dismiss the case, the next major argument is whether BPD, BDA and Smit should comply with Fox's subpoenas for records. The only way around those subpoenas is to prove that the criminal investigation is still active and on-going. 48 Hours offered that "proof" with "hundreds" not "dozens" of bad guys creating the "dark side" of Boulder night life as intended swab targets with claims they've been "ignored" by BPD. Whether that "proof" will be persuasive to Judge Figa is for crystal ball gazers. But my guess is he's no dumber than us.

    If Figa determines that there is no valid proof that the criminal investigation is active, all of the criminal records may be produced under the subpoenas unless Figa narrows the scope of production which may be likely. Nevertheless, Fox needs those records to disprove Ramseys' claims against them.

    If Figa rules that no such active investigation is ongoing by BDA, it forms the basis for the entire criminal prosecution to be removed from Keenan and put in the hands of a special prosecutor.

    The "big picture" in all of this is that, step by step, what was attempted and failed to be accomplished years ago, Christmas 1999 to be exact, can and will be achieved thru the Fox proceedings. This civil suit is far more important than the public realizes.
     
  10. Little

    Little Member

    Article Published: Monday, December 20, 2004
    JonBenét's dad back in Colorado for suit against Fox News

    Ramsey accuses network of defamation

    By Alicia Caldwell
    Denver Post Staff Writer

    John Ramsey, father of slain child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey, was in Denver federal court today trying, as he put it, to get his good name back.

    That was the explanation Ramsey gave outside the courtroom when asked why he would pursue a defamation lawsuit against Fox News Network after all that he and wife Patsy Ramsey have been through.

    "Two things were taken from us that day," said Ramsey. "One was our child. The other was our honor. We can't get our child back."

    Ramsey's lawyer, Lin Wood, argued that a December 2002 segment by Fox News reporter Carol McKinley defamed the Ramsey couple and their son Burke by implying they may have been involved in the 1996 slaying of JonBenét.

    "They go on to say that after six years, there has never been any evidence linking an intruder to the murder," Wood said. "I'm watching that broadcast and I'm thinking, 'You know what? It had to be someone in the house."'

    A lawyer for Fox News, arguing that the case should be dismissed, said the totality of the two-minute broadcast - a sixth anniversary recap of the case - did not impugn the Ramseys.

    Saying that there is no evidence linking an intruder to the murder isn't the same as saying an intruder is not responsible for it, said Dori Ann Hanswirth, who represents Fox News.

    "It is not considered libel per se and the case ought to be dismissed," Hanswirth argued.

    After hearing the arguments, U.S. District Judge Phillip Figa said he would rule in the coming days. The Ramseys, who live in Michigan, are seeking damages.

    After the hearing, John Ramsey said he was doing some part-time consulting work and that son Burke, a "whiz" with a computer, was looking at colleges. Over the holiday, the Ramseys planned to visit family, he said.

    Ramsey said the family's "biggest hope" is that authorities will bring the killer to justice. He expressed confidence in Boulder District Attorney Mary Keenan's pursuit of the case.

    "I was most encouraged when Mary took the case over," Ramsey said. "We could take some rest knowing the case is in good hands."

    Staff writer Alicia Caldwell can be reached at 303-820-1930 or at acaldwell@denverpost.com .

    http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~56~2609369,00.html
     
  11. BobC

    BobC Poster of the EON - Fabulous Inimitable Transcript

    I think you're right Little--although it's probably about money and standing up to shakedown artists.
     
  12. Elle

    Elle Member

    Very little I can add to anything above. Saves me a lot of typing. :) I'm just getting plain nervous waiting for the other shoe to fall.

    Thanks Little for the update. John Ramsey seems to be on cosy terms with the D.A the way he quotes: "I was most encouraged when Mary took the case over," Ramsey said. "We could take some rest knowing the case is in good hands."

    He appears to be on a first name basis with her, doesn't he? Hmmmmmm!
     
  13. Catfish

    Catfish Member

    Curious news story

    On Monday and Tuesday (Dec 20 & 21) Fox News anchors reported that male DNA was found in JonBenet's underware and that the DNA did not match any member of the Ramsey family. The two reports I saw seemed to imply that this is new information and a possible break in the case.

    Since there was nothing new in these reports, I find the timing of them curious in light of Monday's libel suit article quoted by Little. At the least, these reports on Fox News seem to be implying that there is evidence of an intruder.

    Is Fox just being "fair and balanced" here. Any thoughts?
     
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