Contrary To Reported Claim By Amanda Knox There Is Zero “Wave Of Defamation Suits”
Posted by Peter Quennell
No defamation suits have begun. But actually it is WORSE. And Knox would be suicidal to leave her story unchanged.
Bob Barnett and Ted Simon and anyone else presumably trying to give Knox good advice might like to take note. Canada’s National Post is reporting this:
Her book, which earned her an advance of almost $4-million, also risks inflaming Italian public opinion, offending the nation’s judges and triggering a wave of new defamation actions by the police and prosecutors she accuses of framing her.
“People asked me if I would change the book and I said absolutely not … I am not going to change my story just because someone is threatening to sue me but I mean … it sucks. It sucks and it sucks.”
Defamation, slander and libel refer to private, personal, civil suits against other persons who tell a malicious untruth. Knox and Sollecito are not (or not yet) facing anything like that.
Each through their unwise books and interviews has sparked a single investigation by a Chief Prosecutor (in Florence, Verona and Bergamo) into whether they are in contempt of court.
Those who would seek to undermine the due process of the Italian justice system and the proper functioning of the courts (very, very rare now) might include any or all of these seven groups:
- The three regional mafias;
- A few defense lawyers and well-funded defendants;
- Politicians shielding corruption;
- In some instances the freemasons.
- Those wanting investigations like MOF/Narducci to drop dead;
- Muckraking magazines like Oggi;
- Some anti-Italy foreigners.
If officers of the Italian courts are publicly accused of crimes in the media while a legal process is playing out, and the claims are malicious and untrue, this is not a civil matter (libel or defamation).
It is a criminal matter (in the UK and US too) for which sentences can include long prison terms.
If the officers of the Italian court who are attacked are very senior and have an antimafia role they are REQUIRED BY LAW to request a criminal investigation by a chief prosecutor to take place.
They esentially have no further role themselves except to provide true testimony in court.
A range of measures is then available to investigating chief prosecutors, up to and including invoking the powers of the Council of Magistrates and even the President of the Italian republic.
Knox and Sollecito both seem to have point-blank accused a number of officers of the court of crimes. In Deputy Prosecutor General Mignini’s case, he has been accused by both:
- By Sollecito of offering an illegal deal to make him sell out on Knox. Sollecitos own father said on national TV that this was simply a lie.
- By Knox of illegally interrogating her about Patrick with no defense lawyer present. But the trial record shows Mignini was not even in the room.
These seem to be about as open-and-shut as contempt of court cases can ever get. “Sollecito and Knox, did you make these false claims or not? Yes or no?”
If the answer is yes, they will lose their criminal case in the blink of an eye. Then, possibly, one or more private or civil defamation suit might start.
Posted by Peter Quennell on 05/19/13 at 03:08 PM in
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