Ramsey defamation suit heard
Article Published: Tuesday, December 21, 2004
The familys lawyer says Fox News suggested that someone in the house was linked to the child beauty queens death.
John Ramsey, left, father of JonBenet Ramsey, was in federal court in Denver on Monday to push his defamation lawsuit against Fox News Network. Also shown are his lawyers, Lin Wood and Katherine Ventulett.
John Ramsey, father of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, was in Denver federal court Monday trying, as he put it, to get his good name back.
That was the explanation Ramsey gave outside the courtroom when asked why he would pursue a defamation lawsuit against Fox News Network after all that he and wife Patsy Ramsey have been through.
"Two things were taken from us that day," Ramsey said. "One was our child. The other was our honor. We can't get our child back."
One of Ramsey's lawyers, Lin Wood, argued that a December 2002 segment by Fox News reporter Carol McKinley defamed the Ramsey couple and their son Burke by implying they may have been involved in the 1996 slaying of JonBenet
"They go on to say that after six years, there has never been any evidence linking an intruder to the murder," Wood said. "I'm watching that broadcast and I'm thinking, 'You know what? It had to be someone in the house."'
A lawyer for Fox News, arguing that the case should be dismissed, said the totality of the two-minute broadcast clearly did not impugn the Ramseys.
While John and Patsy had been suspects, the segment, a sixth-anniversary recap, said it was a new day for the case, said attorney Dori Ann Hanswirth, who represents Fox News.
And saying that there is no evidence linking an intruder to the murder isn't the same as saying an intruder is not responsible for it, Hanswirth said.
"It is not considered libel per se, and the case ought to be dismissed," Hanswirth argued.
After hearing the arguments, U.S. District Judge Phillip Figa said he would issue a ruling in the coming days.
The Ramseys, who live in Michigan, are seeking damages.
After the hearing, John Ramsey said he was doing some part-time consulting work and that son Burke, a "whiz" with a computer, was looking at colleges.
Ramsey said the family's "biggest hope" is that authorities will bring the killer to justice. He expressed confidence in Boulder District Attorney Mary Keenan's pursuit of the case.
"I was most encouraged when Mary took the case over," Ramsey said. "We could take some rest knowing the case is in good hands."
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~56~2610092,00.html