Former U.S. Dept. of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod's defamation suit against right-wing political blogger Andrew Breitbart for defamation just might stick in court, legal experts told journalism watchdog group Media Matters. New York Personal injury lawyers may agree with Los Angeles attorney Deborah Drooz, who said the former USDA employee "most certainly" has a strong case:
"What Mr. Breitbart did was to create the false appearance that Ms. Sherrod was a racist. He used that to further his conservative agenda. He deprived the viewer of the ability to decide for himself what Ms. Sherrod said."
Defendant Andrew Breitbart posted a video from a speech she gave to the NAACP that, due to heavy edits, appeared as if she were condoning racist behavior against white farmers. All politics aside, it's clear from the unedited video that she was actually condemning racism as she discussed her personal growth from working with poor white farmers.
One question is whether Andrew Breitbart in fact knew that the roughly two-minute video snippet he posted misrepresented the scope of her hour-long speech, Deborah Drooz said. He posted it on his BigGovernment.com Web site without contacting Shirley Sherrod for comment; Fox News covered the story, also without fact-checking.
Another legal consideration, the lawyer added, is whether or not she may be considered a public figure, often used as a defense to defamation.
New York personal injury lawyer Martin London explained how Shirley Sherrod must prove that Andrew Breitbart showed "reckless disregard" and that he posted the edited and misleading video with malice:
"The real question would be did he know or have reason to suspect and never inquired that this clip unfairly represented what she said. Are there some fact that could determine that he would suspect it?"
The fact that Andrew Breitbart didn't bother to contact the plaintiff might go a long way toward proving he suspected she might correct his reporting, he added.
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Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
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Should Shirley Sherrod Sue Andrew Breitbart and Fox News? (FindLaw's Writ)
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