By: E&P Staff An Illinois appellate court has upheld a jury's 2005 dismissal of a libel case brought against the Chicago Tribune by a prosecutor involved in a notorious child murder case.
Thomas Knight had alleged he was libeled in a 1999 investigative piece that came on the eve of the trial of Knight and five other DuPage County law enforcement figures -- who were accused of framing a man in the 1983 murder of a 10-year-old girl in her suburban Naperville home.
Knight and his co-defendants were acquitted of all charges.
In the libel trial, the jury decided the article's authors -- former Tribune reporter Ken Armstrong and Maurice Possley, who recently announced he was taking a buyout from the paper -- made factual errors, but that Knight had failed to prove they acted with actual malice.
In his appeal, Knight argued that the judge in the case should not have allowed the jury to hear evidence of negative publicity about the prosecution of the suspect, Rolando Cruz. But in its 3-0 ruling, the appeals court panel said Knight had not proven the evidence had prejudiced his trial.
The decision was first reported by Tribune reporter Ameet Sachdev.
"We are gratified by the court's decision, both for ourselves as a news organization and for the public we serve," Karen H. Flax, assistant general counsel for Tribune Co., told the flagship paper in Sachdev's account. "Breathing room for a free press is essential in a democracy. This is a good day for all who value the First Amendment."
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here