Judge throws out George Zimmerman's libel suit against NBC[W:17]

sangha said:

Am I the only one who's noticed that many of the people wailing about this judges decision are the same people who point to a judge's decision to argue that Zimmerman was not guilty of committing any crime?

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Grim17 said:

Yes, it is different.

If people in the media voice their opinion, that's freedom of speech and whether you agree with that opinion or not, it's protected. This isn't an issue of what NBC said or believed about Zimmerman, this was a case where they edited a recording of a phone call to police by Zimmerman (who had just shot a black teenage boy) which by doing so took him out of context and falsely gave millions of people the impression he was a racist.

In other words, what NBC did was falsely give millions of people the impression that Zimmerman implicated himself as a racist after killing a black kid. Or put another way, thanks to NBC, millions of people saw Zimmerman as a self confessed racist who murdered a black kid, who had not been arrested and was living his life free as a bird. He received numerous death threats because of this, it put both him and his family in a lot of danger, and forced them to have to go into hiding.

Don't you believe that NBC should be held responsible for their actions?

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Grim17 said:

I would agree with you because people who have a respect and understanding of our criminal justice system, are usually individuals with a solid moral center who believe that people (or a company) should take responsibility for their actions when they unnecessarily harm others.

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rocket88 said:

I'm not shocked that you see it like that. Put NBC out of business, but Rush Limbaugh and George Zimmerman are above reproach.

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Grim17 said:

Yes, it is different.
This isn't an issue of what NBC said or believed about Zimmerman, this was a case where they edited a recording of a phone call to police by Zimmerman (who had just shot a black teenage boy) which by doing so took him out of context and falsely gave millions of people the impression he was a racist.

In other words, what NBC did was falsely give millions of people the impression that Zimmerman implicated himself as a racist after killing a black kid. Or put another way, thanks to NBC, millions of people saw Zimmerman as a self confessed racist who murdered a black kid, who had not been arrested and was living his life free as a bird. He received numerous death threats because of this, it put both him and his family in a lot of danger, and forced them to have to go into hiding.

Don't you believe that NBC should be held responsible for their actions?

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Grim17 said:

Did you misread my post or are you purposely misrepresenting what I said?

I may be wrong, but I think it's the latter because of how you avoided answering my question.

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rocket88 said:

Funny, some people feel the same about Zimmerman....

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rocket88 said:

Can we just let it die? I don't care about him anymore, he was acquitted, which is probably the best verdict that could be reached. But could we just let it go rather than calling out everyone who has the "wrong" take on it?

The fact that he had a gun doesn't make him automatically right or wrong. I know we want to see the eeeeeevil libruls crucified....but just let it go.

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rocket88 said:

Really, you sticking up for Rush Limbaugh and Z are "misrepresenting?" You said it was different, mostly because you think conservative commentators are exempt from the same rules as liberals.

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No, I don't think NBC should be held responsible, because they didn't say "Go kill George Zimmerman." They are not responsible for the actions of another group.

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TheNextEra said:

Yeah, because we have NEVER seen Fox News or people Rush Limbaugh or Hannity, edit something say like a politician says and take it out of context :roll:

Guess that is libel too right?

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Excon said:

Judge throws out George Zimmerman's libel suit against NBC

A Sanford judge today put an end to George Zimmerman's libel suit against NBC Universal.

Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson ruled that the former Neighborhood Watch volunteer is entitled to no money from the media giant.

She issued a summary judgment in the network's favor, meaning that unless an appeals court reverses her, the case is now dead.

[...]

"Zimmerman and his family had received death threats and had gone into hiding long before any of the challenged broadcasts," she wrote.

Zimmerman had made himself more difficult to defame, the judge wrote, because he had voluntarily made himself a public figure long before the shooting. In 2010, when the Sanford Police Department refused for weeks to arrest the son of a white police officer who had punched and broken the nose of a homeless black man, Zimmerman publicly protested.

That was an example, Nelson wrote, of Zimmerman "voluntarily injecting his views into the public controversy surrounding race relations and public safety in Sanford."

[...]​

George Zimmerman loses libel suit against NBC - Orlando Sentinel
​

Judge Nelson has proved she should not be on the bench over and over again.


If you would like a better legal analysis than that, please feel free read what is located at the following.

George Zimmerman | Judge Debra Nelson | Libel Suit Dismissed

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rocket88 said:

Z's a protected class now. Can't say anything about him without incurring the wrath of certain posters.

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poweRob said:

Now he's gonna have get a job and actually earn his living. Poor George.

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poweRob said:

Now he's gonna have get a job and actually earn his living. Poor George.

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Grim17 said:

Rush Limbaugh? I have said nothing about Limbaugh because he has nothing to do with this topic....

I didn't realize you only trying to derail this thread... I thought you might actually want to have a discussion about it.



Well that's just FANTASTIC...

So you believe the media has the right to edit what a private citizen says on an audio tape, make the public believe something that is not true, put them and their family in danger, without any repercussions.

And people wonder what I have against liberals... pffff

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rocket88 said:

So it's bad when liberals do it, but not when James O'Keefe does it? Interesting.....

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Grim17 said:

Just to be clear on how I stand, I watched the trial every day and believe the decision was the correct one, I believe that NBC should be held liable for their irresponsible and reckless behavior, but I do not hold any personal opinions about Zimmerman or believe he some kind of hero who should be revered.

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AJiveMan said:

Isn't there an amendment to the constitution that says something about freedom of speech, the press and media have these rights too, should she have stripped that law down to bare bones and ruled against NBC?

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Excon said:

Not even in the same ball park.

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rocket88 said:

It's pretty similar except for your distaste for NBC and love for O'Keefe.

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rocket88 said:

So it's bad when liberals do it, but not when James O'Keefe does it? Interesting.....

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Excon said:

Stop making things up.
They are in no way similar.
And the only love of O'Keefe came in the form of your use of him as an example.

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Grim17 said:

Now you bring in O'Keefe... Sorry, he's not the topic either.

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rocket88 said:

What's dissimilar?

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rocket88 said:

I think the verdict was probably as good of a verdict as there was going to be, but that doesn't mean I have to go around defending him all the time.

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