Burke Ramsey, the older brother of JonBenet Ramsey who was killed in her home twenty years ago, has filed a defamation lawsuit against CBS. The suit claims that the media company and its consultants falsely claimed that he was the one who killed his sister when they were kids. But does his case have any ground to stand on, or will it simply be thrown out like many before it?
Defamation cases are difficult to win because there is a difference between a person claiming that something is fact and an opinion. Claiming something as an opinion is simply part of the First Amendment. However, there might be a way for Ramsey to win his impressive $750 million case. All he has to do is prove that CBS lied.
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CBS recently broadcast a true crime docuseries called The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey. The series took a look at the old case and tried to determine if there was any way to prove who did it. In the end, the show was clear that those presenting the information believed that Burke Ramsey was the murderer.
Ramsey says the conclusion of the show was a false and defamatory claim. However, to prove it, he has to show that the claims in the show were not just opinions, but were being presented as facts.
“In his complaint, Burke Ramsey claims that the documentary is rife with outright lies, half-truths, manufactured information, and the intentional omission and avoidance of truthful information about the murder of his sister,” said Larry Iser, a Los Angeles law partner. “If he can prove that, the defendants would be liable for defamation.”
However, if Ramsey is unable to prove that CBS was presenting its opinion as facts, as well as producing lies, hiding facts, and omitting important information, then the case will likely be thrown out.
Do you think that CBS was in the right, or did the docuseries take things a little too far?
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[H/T Variety]
