Linda Fairstein: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: Ava DuVernay had a lot to say in the Emmy-winning When They See Us about the harmed heaped on the so-called Central Park 5 and now she is speaking out about the settlement she and Netflix reached with the former prosecutor in that travesty of justice.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Linda Fairstein, the controversial former prosecutor involved in the Central Park Five jogger case, has settled her defamation lawsuit against Netflix and Ava DuVernay over the 2019 docuseries “When They See Us.” Fairstein sued in 2020, alleging that she was falsely portrayed as a racist villain who orchestrated the convictions of five innocent young men. The case was set to go to trial next week in federal court in Manhattan. In the settlement, Netflix agreed to donate $1 million to the Innocence Project.

(Updated with Linda Fairstein statement) Just days before Netflix and the former prosecutor of the unjustly imprisoned Central Park 5 were set to go to trial in New York over Ava DuVernay’s Emmy winning When They See Us,  the whole four- year long legal battle is over.

defamation lawsuit by best-selling author and former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein over her portrayal in a 2019 crime drama about the Central Park Five case.US District Judge Kevin Castel on Tuesday said Fairstein plausibly alleged that Netflix, director Ava DuVernay and writer-producer Attica Locke acted with actual malice as to five scenes in “When They See Us.”The series dramatized the story of five black and Hispanic teenagers who spent five to 13 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted in the April 1989 rape of a white jogger in Central Park. Another man confessed in 2002.Castel in a 67-page decision found evidence that in depicting Fairstein as a villain emblematic of broader problems in criminal justice, the defendants “reverse-engineered plot points to attribute actions, responsibilities and viewpoints to Fairstein that were not hers and are unsupported in defendants’ substantial body of research materials.”The Manhattan judge said jurors should decide whether there was “clear and convincing evidence that defendants were recklessly indifferent to the truth.”Netflix, based in Los Gatos, Calif., and the defendants’ lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Linda Fairstein over her portrayal as a racist and unethical villain in “When They See Us,” a 2019 series about the Central Park Five case.US District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan said Fairstein had plausibly alleged defamation as to five scenes, including that she withheld evidence, coerced confessions and directed a racially discriminatory police roundup of young men in Harlem.“The average viewer could conclude that these scenes have a basis in fact and do not merely reflect the creators’ opinions about controversial historical events,” the judge wrote.Castel said Fairstein could also pursue defamation claims against both the series’ director, Ava DuVernay, and against Attica Locke, a writer and producer, and civil conspiracy claims

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterA judge ruled on Monday that former prosecutor Linda Fairstein has a plausible claim that she was defamed by “When They See Us,” the Netflix series from Ava DuVernay about the Central Park Five case.Fairstein sued Netflix, DuVernay and writer Attica Locke in March 2020, alleging that the four-part series portrayed her as a “racist, unethical villain” who framed five young men for a brutal rape and beating.Netflix had argued that the show was protected by the First Amendment. In seeking to throw out the suit, the streamer argued that the filmmakers are allowed to use some dramatic license in creating a portrayal of Fairstein that was substantially true.U.S.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterA judge in Florida agreed Thursday to transfer ex-prosecutor Linda Fairstein’s defamation lawsuit against Netflix to New York, finding that is a more appropriate venue for the case involving a TV series about the Central Park Five.Fairstein filed the suit in March, alleging that she was wrongfully depicted in “When They See Us” as a racist prosecutor who orchestrated the railroading of five innocent teenagers. She also sued director Ava DuVernay and writer Attica Locke.She filed the case in federal court in Florida, where she now lives, arguing that was a legitimate venue because the series was broadcast there.

By Dominic Patten

Carole Baskin is not too pleased with Netflix and their true-crime docu-series, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness”.

What is done in the dark, will always come to light.

Carole Baskin is not too pleased with Netflix and their true-crime docu-series, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness”.

Former prosecutor Linda Fairstein filed a lawsuit against Netflix and Ava DuVernay over “When They See Us”.

Former prosecutor Linda Fairstein filed a lawsuit against Netflix and Ava DuVernay over .

Of all the things going on right now, Exonerated 5 prosecutor Linda Fairstein thought it was the appropriate time to hit Ava DuVernay and Netflix with a lawsuit for her portrayal in “When They See Us.”

Linda Fairstein just couldn’t let lying dogs lie.

Linda Fairstein, the lead prosecutor in the Central Park jogger case, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday claiming that she was defamed by the Netflix series about the case, titled “When They See Us.”

By Gene Maddaus