Bias Newspaper Article

[quincy]

You spent a lot of time on this, Taxing Matters. I will read what you wrote later.

I believe the man became a limited purpose public figure when he became the subject of a SWAT response.

I am sure the man's attorney would have him argue otherwise. I don't see him being successful against the paper.

 

[Taxing Matters]

You spent a lot of time on this. I will read what you wrote later.

I believe the man became a limited purpose public figure when he became the subject of a SWAT response.

And I don't believe that simply being the subject of a police action or something reported in the news makes one a public figure. The situation has to be more than simply newsworthy to elevate someone to a public figure. That's what the Georgia appeals court analysis I cited is getting at.

 

[quincy]

And I don't believe that simply being the subject of a police action or something reported in the news makes one a public figure. The situation has to be more than simply newsworthy to elevate someone to a public figure. That's what the Georgia appeals court analysis I cited is getting at.

I understand what you believe. I would argue otherwise.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I understand what you believe. I would argue otherwise.

Yes, I understand. You and I see it a bit differently. I just think that just based on what we know, it could go either way once all the facts were known, and we don't have all that info. I don't think there is enough here to say that a court would definitely hold that the friend was a limited purpose public figure. I don't see it, but I don't rule it out. These are not especially easy determinations to make in a lot of cases. I particularly like this statement about it from a federal district court: "How and where do we draw a line between public figures and private individuals? They are nebulous concepts. Defining public figures is much like trying to nail a jellyfish to the wall." Rosanova v. Playboy Enterprises, Inc., 411 F. Supp. 440, 443 (S.D. Ga. 1976), aff'd, 580 F.2d 859 (5th Cir. 1978).

 

[quincy]

A difference of opinion is what makes a court case.

Here are two links on why innocent people plead guilty to crimes they did not commit, the first link to the National Registry of Exonerations published in November of 2015, and the second to the Innocence Project (which has links to additional articles, the one by TakePart worth reading):

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/NRE.Guilty.Plea.Article1.pdf

https://www.innocenceproject.org/why-are-people-pleading-guilty-to-crimes-they-didnt-commit/

Again, a personal review by a local attorney would be smart.