Grisham: Innocent of Libel

If John Grisham didn't fully appreciate the difference between fiction and non-fiction, it became apparent to him when he was slapped with a libel suit.

Following the release of his first non-fiction book, The Innocent Man, Grisham found himself sued for defamation along with a host of others who had written about the wrongful conviction of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz for the 1982 murder of Debbie Carter in Ada, Oklahoma. One man was sentenced to life in prison and the other to death -- then it was determined via DNA evidence that a prosecution witness, Glen Gore, committed the murder.

The plaintiffs in the libel case against the authors and publishers were William Peterson, the prosecutor, and Gary Rogers, an investigator for the prosecutor's office. They filed suit a year ago against Grisham and others, as well as Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project. In their complaint, they accused the defendants of libel, "false light" publicity, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The complaint is the most unusual libel complaint I have ever seen (and I've been practicing law on and off since 1994). It delves into great detail about the background of the Plaintiffs, far, far beyond that necessary to institute an action. It clearly appears to be more intended for the media and the public than for the court.

Curiously enough, the complaint gives no concrete examples of actual "defamatory" or false statements. Instead, in conclusory language, the three books that discuss the wrongful convictions of Williamson and Fritz are described in the complaint as "a massive joint defamatory attack... designed to bring about great hatred, contempt and ridicule of the Plaintiffs...."

Long story short, the judge disagreed. In a decision released a couple days ago, the judge dismissed the case, remarking, as the Associated Press is reporting, that "The wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz must be discussed openly and with great vigor." The opinion is not yet readily available online.

Frankly, I doubt they ever had a case to begin with. Truth is an absolute defense in a libel case, and if any of these books contained a demonstrably false statement, it should have been and would have been quoted in the complaint and demonstrated in the complaint to have been a false statement.

Grisham and Scheck can now add their own names to the list of those who have survived a scurrilous charge in this case.

Comments

[carole gill]

The term, "show trial" comes to mind with regard to the plantiff's gearing it more for media and the public!
Interesting! Terrible, but fascinating.
i'm glad they lost--thrilled in fact.
i read Grisham's book (The Innocent Man) and I thought if was a brilliant account of a terrible miscarriage of justice.
Delighted with the decision. Great.

[Barbara's Journey Toward Justice]

UPDATE- OCT.2008 Dennis Fritz, "The Innocent Man" and John Grisham's Real Life, "Appeal"

This story is just unbelievable. A libel lawsuit against Dennis Fritz, author of Journey Toward Justice and author, John Grisham headed to court of appeals.