Trayvon Martin's parents won an estimated $1 million settlement from the homeowners' association. Well, actually, they didn't WIN it, the insurance company settled.
It would set the precedent that the media should get the story right before they air it.
This "it bleeds, it leads" mentality needs to end.
That's good. What's your SSN?
Sometimes that is impossible so you can't make a law against and even if you did organizations are pretty much free to do what they want or else every media outlet in the country would be out of business except for a state-run broadcaster.
Are you saying that it's impossible for the media to act responsibly?
Yeah, I thought that is what everyone knew, it's their job.
No. It's their job to report the news, not make it up.
The first two rights we have in our Bill of Rights are the freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. If I exercise my 2nd Amendment rights irresponsibility and someone gets hurt or killed, do I get to hide behind that right? No, of course not.
And the media shouldn't have the ability to hide behind the 1st Amendment when they use it irresponsibly either.
Speculation about an ongoing trial is not defamation. This would be a ridiculous and fruitless suit.
I'm as anti-frivolous lawsuit as the next person, but Zimmerman suing in civil court would be far from frivolous.
I could see Trays parents suing for wrongful death in civil court far easier. Wrongful death does not have nearly the burden as murder.
A bad precedent of what?
So Zimmerman should just be all "aww shucks, golly gee stuff happens" over this whole thing, even though the media and martin's family and Barack Obama painted him publicly as a racist murderer and now will be seen as that by some for the rest of his life?
So you think Z couldn't win a civil trial against those who have ruined his name?
Speculation about an ongoing trial is not defamation. This would be a ridiculous and fruitless suit.
Yes, in law, but finding a judge willing to go up against the media would be hard.So you think Z couldn't win a civil trial against those who have ruined his name?
Guy should count himself lucky the prosecution was just incompetent enough not to nail him with an easy manslaughter conviction and crawl back to his private life.
Guy ruined his own good name when he played wanna-be cop and yet couldn't keep the situation from escalating to the point where he apparently had to kill a minor.
Guy should count himself lucky the prosecution was just incompetent enough not to nail him with an easy manslaughter conviction and crawl back to his private life.
So you think Z couldn't win a civil trial against those who have ruined his name?
Yes, in law, but finding a judge willing to go up against the media would be hard.
No poll, just what do you think?
I think he should hire a good team of lawyers and take them for all they're worth. Perhaps he could also sue President Obama since he decided to stick his filthy, ugly nose into it?
So if you were accused, arrested and drug through the mud by the media and the President for a crime that you're not guilty of, you'd just let it go?
He could not sue for "speculation." But numerous people and media outlets stated as unqualified FACT that GZ "murdered" TM and often referred states as absolute fact that GM is a "murderer."
That is called libel/slander per se. That means automatically presumed to be malicious and deliberately false UNLESS the person saying it can prove it's true.
That standard is very limited to saying someone committed an exact crime or has a mental or physical defect.
Thus, the media/press/people could say GZ is "a killer," "the most evil person on earth," "a racist," etc etc. BUT THEY CAN NOT SAY GZ IS "A MURDERER" just like they can't say "GZ HAS HIV/AIDS" - and if they do then it is there burden to prove the statement is true.
It has nothing to do with speculation. It has to do with was has been libel/slander law in this country for 200 years and as recognized common law too.
I could see Trays parents suing for wrongful death in civil court far easier. Wrongful death does not have nearly the burden as murder.
Mark O'Mara made reference to same last night in his presser. We'll see who gets sued. O'Mara was not happy and sounded like pursuing the civil actions was going to be a personal crusade. I'm not a legal expert so I don't know who can be sued. I do know nbc (edited 911 call), cnn (released ss #), abc (video claiming GZ had NO injuries that night), spike lee (giving out an address of GZ's parents that turned out to be wrong and the people living there had to flee), ben crump (perjury in a deposition), black panthers (criminal charges, bounty issued), would be a good start.
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