(Via Washington Post) The lawyer in George Zimmerman’s defamation suit is vowing to appeal the ruling of a Florida judge who yesterday tossed the litigation from her courtroom. Judge Debra S. Nelson wrote that Zimmerman “shall take nothing by this suit” even though NBC News in multiple broadcasts had shortened a police call in a way that inaccurately depicted Zimmerman as volunteering racial information about Trayvon Martin on the night of their fatal encounter in February 2012.
“We obviously disagree with the judge,” says James Beasley, Zimmerman’s Philadelphia-based attorney. “We understand she has her position and we respect it, but we obviously disagree.” An appeal is coming. Nelson is the same judge who presided over Zimmerman’s 2013 criminal trial, in which he was acquitted of second-degree murder.
The pivotal section of Nelson’s decision declares that for the purposes of libel law, Zimmerman is a public figure. In so ruling, Nelson appears to have agreed with NBC’s motion to dismiss, which argued that Zimmerman’s public profile predated the encounter with Martin.
He had played a leadership role in opposing the Sanford Police Department’s “perceived lethargy in investigating the relative of a law enforcement official who was allegedly involved in the beating of a black man,” noted NBC. He also lobbied for the creation of a neighborhood watch group in his neighborhood.
As Nelson wrote in her ruling, “He voluntarily injected his views into the public controversy surrounding race relations and public safety in Sanford and pursued a course of action that ultimately led to the death of Trayvon Martin and the specific controversy around it.”
[…] Though courts and lawyers can argue ad nauseam about who’s a public figure, there’s one component of the Nelson ruling that’ll be harder to counter, and it relates to the progression of the Zimmerman-Martin story.
In Nelson’s words:
“The undisputed evidence shows negative publicity was directed at Zimmerman by the Martin family’s lawyer, by civil rights activists, and by a litany of news media entities well before the non-emergency call was released to the public and before NBC broadcast any of the news reports at issue.” (more)
FACT: The first press conference by the Martin family and their civil rights attorneys, Benjamin Crump, Daryl Parks and Natalie Jackson, was held on Thursday March 8th 2012 in front of Jackson’s law office. It was organized by media consultant Ryan Julison.
FACT: The non-emergency call tapes were released to the “Scheme Team” by Sanford Mayor Triplett, as a result of pressure from Sanford City Manager Nelson Bonaparte on Friday night March 16th 2012 against the expressed recommendation of Police Chief Bill Lee. ABC reporter Matt Gutman and ABC Producer Candace Smith made copies of the DVD recording that night.
FACT: The Sanford Police Chief, Bill Lee, and Sanford City Attorney, Lonnie Groot, had previously requested a hearing to determine the legality of releasing the recording. According to all Florida legal standards and interpretations the call recording was covered by the “Earnhart Law” which forbids release of audio/video containing sound of, or visibility of, a victim/human death. The emergency hearing was scheduled for Monday March 19th 2012.
The presiding Judge in the emergency audio release hearing -back in 2012- was,…. wait for it…. yep, Judge Debra Nelson.
…. And everyone following the case knows what the Scheme Team was doing on March 19th and 20th of 2012 !! (HINT: 16-year-old “school sweetheart” – “hospitalized” – “Dee Dee”)