Judge throws out Zimmerman defamation suit against NBC

For those who don't remember what NBC did, here is a refresher.

The investigation came after Fox News and others pointed out that the network spliced two parts of the call together, making it appear as if Zimmerman had said, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black." In reality, Zimmerman was answering a dispatcher's question:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about.
Dispatcher: OK, and this guy--is he black, white or Hispanic?
Zimmerman: He looks black.

The problem with defamation cases against public figures is that the plaintiff must prove that the defendant "knowingly" made a false statement.  NBC in this case could just argue that they made a mistake.  It is very difficult to prove that someone knowingly and deliberately made a false statement.

As the statement from the judge makes clear (from the Erik Wemple blog at the Washington Post):

“There exists absolutely no clear and convincing evidence that defendants knew that the information published was false at the time it was published, or recklessly disregarded the truth or falsity of those statements,” wrote Judge Debra S. Nelson, according to the Sentinel’s account. She also pushed aside contentions in Zimmerman’s complaint that he suffered emotional distress as a result of the NBC News reports. . . . .

This decision doesn't mean that NBC acted correctly.  It just means that Zimmerman couldn't prove to at least this judge satisfaction that they purposely edited the tape to make him look bad.  It isn't a question of what the edit did, but it is a question of proving intent.

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Kobe Bryant speaks out against blacks automatically coming to Trayvon Martin's defense

It seems Bryant makes a very simple and obvious point:

"I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American,” he said. “That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, we’ve progressed as a society, then don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.” . . . .

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