ACLU Says Lawyer Eric Deters Misquoted Whistleblower's Jim Schifrin: Misleading Edits Inaccurately 'Contort' Libel Lawsuit

Edits Changed The Meaning?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The ACLU says Kentucky lawyer Eric Deters has filed a libel lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court that rewrites and edits statements published by Jim Schifrin in his electronic newsletter, The Whistleblower.  As the ACLU sees it, the revisions are an attempt to create the appearance of malice and use the court system to shut down Schifrin by suing him into silence.     The ACLU is defending Schifrin against Deters -- a part-time talk show host on 700 WLW-AM --who says he was defamed last August.  The ACLU says it has found Deters "does not even accurately or completely quote the 'statements' he considered offensive."  From pages 9 and 10 of the ACLU's motion to have the libel case dismissed:

"Without question, then, Plaintiff (Deters) is a public figure, and the New York Times actual malice standard applies to his clams.  Plaintiff cannot meet this burden.  First, and critically, he does not even accurately or completely quote the 'statements' he considered offensive.  In Paragraph 14 of his Complaint, he avers that Schifrin posted, with malicious intent, a claim "that Plaintiff had given his former client and current employee, Nicole Howell, a 'promise ring' . . .  That is belied by the very publication at issue, in which Schifrin writes:

Bluegrass Bureau Chief Ken Camboo says several people have emailed what they claimed were of NoKy's most infamous sex-ed teacher Nicole Howell's 'promise ring' given to her by Eric 'Call Me Crazy' Deters, whose impending divorce isn't even filed, much less final.  But let's face it; pictures of just a ring on somebody's hand are nowhere near conclusive evidence.

"Complaint at Exhibit B (emphasis added).  This is not a statement at all.  At worst, this is merely conjecture, and is even specifically qualified by a disclaimer.  Plaintiff has failed adequately to allege that this comment constitutes a statement reflecting actual malice.

"Plaintiff similarly misquotes the August 15 Whistleblower in an effort to contort it into a defamatory statement reflecting actual malice.  In Paragraph 17 of his Complaint, he avers that Schifrin posted, with malicious intent, a claim "that Plaintiff gave 'Noky's most infamous sex ed teacher, Nicole Howell . . .' a ring and requested that readers submit pictures of the alleged ring on her finger.  Defendant further posted and published that Eric 'Call Me Crazy' Deters, who's [sic] impending divorce isn't even filed, much less final . . .' purchased Howell 'a little promise ring.'"  What the August 15 Whistleblower actually says is:

The Camboozler was also hoping one of his Independence snitches can snap a picture of NoKy's most infamous sex-ed teacher Nicole Howell's left ring finger and send it in to The Blower.  Rumor has it that the [sic] Eric 'Call Me Crazy' Deters, whose impending divorce isn't even filed, much less final, may have purchased her a little 'promise ring.'  If anyone has evidence that will confirm or deny this dirty little rumor, The Blower wants to hear from you.

"Complaint at Exhibit B.  Not only is this not a statement, it is specifically qualified, and requests assistance from Schifrin's readership in determining whether there is any truth to the rumor.  This is a defamation action.  The actual words and their actual context are relevant.  Plaintiff cannot misleadingly edit them into something they do not say and then claim that his revised version reflects malice on the part of Schifrin."          

Whistleblower Publisher Jim Schifrin Has ACLU Sparkplug As Defense Lawyer: Scott Greenwood To Battle Libel Charge

[UPDATE: 11/16 -- The ACLU confirms it is on the case. It calls Schifrin a citizen journalist and will make that argument in court.]

ACLU Rides To Schifrin's Rescue



CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Before this week is out, the ACLU itself is likely to enter the case and defend Jim Schifrin against a defamation lawsuit filed in Hamilton County by Kentucky lawyer Eric Deters.   ACLU board member Scott Greenwood -- a constitutional and civil liberties attorney in Cincinnati -- has already signed on as Schifrin's defense lawyer, court records show.  Greenwood listed himself as trial counsel in late October.  Schifrin's formal answer to the lawsuit is due Tuesday, Nov. 16.  Greenwood is high cotton, and the fact that he has come to the aid of Schifrin -- whose daily e-newsletter features gossip, political sniping, press bashing, other assorted peccadilloes, and tidbits of news among all those things and more -- will fashion the dispute into an argument about free speech, a free press and First Amendment rights.  The ACLU and its lawyers have a long history of opposing anything they see as censorship.  Schifrin has plenty of critics in Cincinnati -- but he's also an idiosyncratic voice.  He says things out loud in his newsletter that many Cincinnatians whisper about in private.  Click here to visit Greenwood's website. He helped steer the federal civil rights case that led to reforms in the Cincinnati police department earlier this decade. That litigation helped end the department's longstanding reputation for violence against African American males. Here's a sample of Greenwood's biography:

"Scott Greenwood is a nationally known constitutional rights and civil liberties lawyer. Greenwood has been an outspoken advocate for First Amendment rights and police practices reform, particularly with use of force policies. He has been consistently listed by his colleagues in The Best Lawyers in America for fifteen years, in Ohio Superlawyers, and was named Ohio Lawyer of the Year 2003 by Lawyer’s Weekly. His practice focuses on complex and constitutional litigation in the federal courts. Greenwood lectures widely on constitutional rights, civil liberties, and complex litigation. He has served as general counsel to the national ACLU since 2006, and is the ACLU of Ohio Board of Directors national board representative."

Deters claims Schifrin slimed him in August by publishing an item in the Whistleblower that alleged hanky panky, or something close to hanky panky with a former client.  Here's how Deters' lawsuit  described the item that got under his skin:

"On or about August 13, 2010, Defendant posted and published on the Whistleblower, with malicious intent, an article under the title 'Bluegrass Betrothals' which claimed that Plaintiff had given his former client and current employee, Nicole Howell, a 'promise ring' while Plaintiff's 'impending divorce isn't even filed, much less final.'  All of his is completely false."

Ohio Anti-War Rallies: Pentagon Spied In 2005

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A federal appeals court in Cincinnati today will be the site of a legal showdown between Bush Administration and ACLU lawyers over the constitutionality of the NSA's now-abandoned warrantless eavesdropping program. But other government documents reveal the Pentagon monitored recent peace demonstrations, including an Akron protest in 2005 and another at Kent State University.

The ACLU obtained the records under the Freedom of Information Act last year via a U.S. District Court lawsuit in Pennsylvania. The documents contain summarized information about 186 "anti-military protests or demonstrations in the U.S." The Akron rally was described in a Pentagon database as possibly affiliated with terrorism. -- even though the plan was merely to read names of slain American troops.

''Protests against the war in Iraq were a common trigger for TALON reporting," the ACLU said. "For example, a protest entitled 'Stop the War NOW!' was reported as a potential terrorist threat in a March 2005 TALON. The TALON describes the protest, aimed at a military recruiting station and federal building in Akron, Ohio, as including a rally, march and "Reading of Names of War Dead."

A Kent State University event scheduled by Veterans For Peace also was monitored by the Pentagon even though the St. Louis-based organization is described as a "peaceful anti-war/anti-military organization." VFP does believe that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be impeached for the war. Could that have made the group a target of monitoring?

The ACLU considers the government's efforts to track anti-war activities part of a broader infringement on personal liberty. In others words, in a free society it is not the business of the military or spy agencies to poke around gathering data about citizens and lawful activities.

"The Pentagon's misuse of the TALON database must be viewed in the wider context of increased government surveillance," the ACLU said. "With the help of phone companies, the National Security Agency has been tapping phones and reading e-mail without a warrant. The FBI has gathered information about peace activists, and recruited confidential informants inside groups like Greenpeace and PETA. All of these actions are part of a broad pattern of the executive branch using "national security" as an excuse for encroaching on the privacy and free speech rights of Americans without adequate oversight."

A complete version of the ACLU's report is HERE. It is not clear yet how much of an airing the NSA eavesdropping will receive before the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today. Some legal strategists in the Justice Department contend the case in moot, and the government has tried to cloak the dispute in a national security mantle.