Friday, August 17, 2007

Checking in with . . . Nancy Grace

From the AP wire:
Lawyers for CNN and Nancy Grace have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the TV host of pushing the mother of a missing toddler to suicide through aggressive questioning.

CNN and Grace say the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Melinda Duckett’s family would “severely chill” journalists’ coverage of missing-persons cases, according to federal court documents filed Friday.

“The law does not permit people to recover money from reporters who ask routine questions while covering ongoing stories of national significance to the public,” lawyer Judith Mercier wrote.

Quite apart from the merits of this case, a “severely chilled” Nancy Grace would be a good idea.

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37 comments:

  1. Anonymous8/17/07, 7:27 PM

    An unemployed Nayn-cee Grace would be even better!!!

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  2. Anonymous8/17/07, 7:34 PM

    That foul harridan can't be classified as human, much less a journalist! Jeffrey Fieger won a 25 million dollar judgment against the Jenny Jones show (Time-Warner) in a similar cause of action. Let's hope Nancy Grace gets “severely chilled.” Disclaimer: I have no idea on the merits of this case.

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  3. Anonymous8/17/07, 7:35 PM

    Wow, no comments yet? Is this just an example of low-hanging fruit that nobody wants to bite?

    Frankly, having a "chilling effect" on shock jocks like Grace would be a good thing. And make no mistake, Grace fits that genre.

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  4. Anonymous8/17/07, 8:02 PM

    Has she ever responded to Brad Bannon's rhetorical question, "Who cares about Nancy Grace?" I bet that comment on national TV must have sent a severe chill up Nancy's spine.

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  5. Anonymous8/17/07, 8:10 PM

    Is Nancy Grace a Communist???

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  6. Debrah8/17/07, 9:14 PM

    Wiki on Grace:

    Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct

    The Supreme Court of Georgia has commented on Grace twice. First, in a 1994 heroin trafficking case, Bell v. State, the Court said that she "exceeded the wide latitude of closing argument" by drawing comparisons to unrelated murder and rape cases, and declared a mistrial.[5]
    In 1997, the court was more severe. Although its decision overturning the murder-arson conviction of businessman Wayne Weldon Carr in the death of his wife was caused primarily by other issues, the court made note of Grace's court actions, citing "inappropriate and illegal conduct in the course of the trial."
    Her opening statement in the case promised the jury evidence of physical abuse that she had to know would never be admissible because that entire aspect of the case had already been excluded by the judge.
    Subpoenas that contained hearing dates Grace knew to be false.
    Failure to disclose a full witness list to the defense in a timely fashion.
    Showing a chart during closing arguments that falsely stated a defense expert had not contradicted the state's case on a key issue.
    Also, during closing argument, "vouching" for the case by telling the jury she herself believed Carr to be guilty.
    And finally, performing two illegal searches of Carr's house, including one during which she was accompanied by a CNN camera crew.
    While the court said its reversal was not due to these transgressions, since the case had turned primarily on circumstantial evidence, it nevertheless concluded "the conduct of the prosecuting attorney in this case demonstrated her disregard of the notions of due process and fairness, and was inexcusable."[6] Carr was freed in 2004 when a judge ruled Fulton County had waited too long to retry him.
    Courts that have upheld convictions on cases Grace was involved with have been critical of her conduct. In a 2005 opinion, a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said Grace "played fast and loose" with her ethical duties and failed to "fulfill her responsibilities" as a prosecutor in the 1990 triple murder trial of Herbert Connell Stephens. She failed to turn over evidence that pointed to other suspects to his defense. The court noted that it was "difficult to conclude that Grace did not knowingly" elicit false testimony from a police investigator that there were no other suspects despite strong evidence to the contrary.[7]

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  7. Terry8/17/07, 9:15 PM

    "Routine questions"?!?!?!??!!!!! What an understatement. I hope that toxic harpy gets hit hard with this lawsuit.

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  8. Anonymous8/17/07, 9:27 PM

    Debrah @ 9:14

    Are you suggesting that Mike Nifong is eminently qualified to host a talk show? To be an expert in the analysis of future rapecases?

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  9. Anonymous8/17/07, 9:43 PM

    the first amendment has nothing to do with severe and intentinional infliction of distress.

    no chilling at all.

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  10. Debrah8/17/07, 9:52 PM

    Can't remember if this one has been posted here, but it's almost as hilarious as watching the real thing.

    Amy_does_Grace

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  11. Anonymous8/17/07, 9:52 PM

    Nancy Grace, through her own actions, squandered the benefit of the rule of law. She is a sociopath, and an unintelligent one at that.

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  12. Debrah8/17/07, 9:58 PM

    Scroll down for a pregnant Grace.

    Oh,_baby!

    You know, looking at this reminds me why I've made a concerted effort not to birth babies.

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  13. Gary Packwood8/17/07, 10:04 PM

    Guess severely chilled and corked needs to be considered also.
    ::
    GP

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  14. Debrah8/17/07, 10:09 PM

    ROTFLM-T's-O !!!

    I'm having fun. Never even thought about googling Nancy Grace before, but this woman is a total comedy show.

    Contemplating the strange......it is curious what kind of desperate masochist would marry someone like this.

    Disgruntled_Grace

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  15. Debrah8/17/07, 10:20 PM

    To "inman"--

    Don't you think that Mikey will try to do something like that?

    I think he will. He's a maniac.

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  16. Anonymous8/17/07, 10:36 PM

    Who,pray tell, is nancy grace??????

    trinity60

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  17. Anonymous8/17/07, 10:43 PM

    I dislike Grace and have boycotted her show for years. I am happy for her to be pregnant and hope all goes well. This is not about people's personal life, but their professional life.

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  18. Debrah8/17/07, 11:04 PM

    To 10:43PM--

    Might we expect Nancy Grace ever to take that nifty high road you have constructed?

    Like most, her career would be over post haste without her methods of digging and wallowing in the trenches.

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  19. Anonymous8/17/07, 11:13 PM

    What do Nancy Grace and Mike Nifong have in common? An insatiable desire to win their case at all cost, including the truth. No wonder she went after the INNOCENT Duke Lacrosse players. It wasn't about the "crime". It was about her own personal penchant for drama, even if she has to CREATE it.

    I just wonder how the woman can stay so perpetually wired up and angry and still birth a peaceful baby???

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  20. Anonymous8/17/07, 11:21 PM

    11:04 Maybe you should read my post again. Your reply does not appear to fit the commentary. I don/t know about Nancy and the high ground - just like I do not know abouat some bloggers and the "high ground."

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  21. Anonymous8/17/07, 11:35 PM

    ...reminds me why I've made a concerted effort not to birth babies.

    Explains a lot, excuses nothing.

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  22. Anonymous8/17/07, 11:56 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  23. Anonymous8/18/07, 12:12 AM

    Ir is very obvious that not everyone chooses to take the "nifty" highroad.

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  24. Anonymous8/18/07, 12:15 AM

    A friend of my wife's got tickets to NG talking at a local women's forum and asked her to come along. I told her that I was offended that she would consider providing support to that harpy, even though she was only doing it to provide company for her friend. Happily, she saw how upset I was and agreed not to go, at which point her friend passed on it as well.

    Life's little victories are what make it worth living.

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  25. Anonymous8/18/07, 1:12 AM

    JLS says....,

    Quite apart from the merits of this case, a “severely chilled” Nancy Grace would be a good idea.

    Yep a severely chilled Grace would be a good idea. Her claim that those were routine questions really exposes her were this to come before a jury.

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  26. Anonymous8/18/07, 1:58 AM

    No need for that kind of thought, Bill. Violence begets Violence. Missing the hig road with that commentary.

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  27. Anonymous8/18/07, 5:22 AM

    There is no reason to slander Nancy Grace. She should apologize for slandering the Duke Lacrosse players. But Nancy's questions to the mother of the missing child were totally appropriate. I saw the interview on television. I think much less of her after her outrageous Duke comments and I let Court T.V. and C.N.N. know that I will not view her television programs in the future. I wish Nancy good health in the future.

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  28. Anonymous8/18/07, 8:08 AM

    I'm with Bill - I love barbecued pork!

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  29. Anonymous8/18/07, 8:20 AM

    I'm not thinking chilled, I'm thinking frigid. I just don't think she enjoys sex with men (particularly lacrosse players) and therein lies the problem.

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  30. Anonymous8/18/07, 10:01 AM

    I wish Grace all the best in the future for her family. I disagree about the interview. I saw it also and have an entirely different impression of what went her. She hounded that 21 year old woman - I did not think the Duckett story hung together - pounding the table and yelling at that Mother was atrocious and Grace at her worse. I hope that get both the station and Grace in the law suit.

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  31. Anonymous8/18/07, 11:08 AM

    8:20 We would have to check with her husband about the sex part. do you know from personal experience or is that a quess?

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  32. Unknown8/18/07, 1:39 PM

    In the future, Nancy Grace's twins will be seen as a culminating achievement of modern science and technology, much like the moon landings or Dolly the sheep.

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  33. Anonymous8/18/07, 2:17 PM

    I'm surprised that Nancy is represented by council. Didn't Nancy say the the Duke boys were signaling they did "something wrong" when they retained attorneys.

    I hope the Judge lets this case proceed so that Nancy gets her chance to "Prove Her Innocence".
    (Just like she called for a trial, so the Accused could prove their innocence, in the Duke Case.)

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  34. Anonymous8/18/07, 8:56 PM

    "This is not about people's personal life, but their professional life."

    She has made a profession of destroying people's personal lives. I wish hr ill.

    The baby, on the other hand, I only feel sorry for.

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  35. Anonymous8/18/07, 10:01 PM

    Anyone from Frostburg U would , of course, be looking for a roasting.

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  36. Anonymous8/19/07, 6:07 AM

    She's a evil woman who appeals to those who are like her. Schadenfreude? Too weak a description. People consumed with that kind of hate? Never ends well for them.

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  37. mac8/19/07, 12:02 PM

    Nancy Grace can't chill out: she stated - I heard it from her own mouth(s) that she (Nancy Grace) was a murder victim. (Of course she was resurrected, or she wouldn't be around to haunt us.) You can't chill any more than dead.

    Of course, when she said it, her eyes were all bugged-out, a sure sign of someone who is out-of-touch with reality. (Hint: if all you see are the whites around the eyes, you might want to find cover, or check into delaying your departure on that particular airline flight.)

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