January 18, 2007

Dismiss Me Once ...

On January 13, federal district judge Claude Hilton (E. D. Va.) again dismissed the defamation case brought by scientist Steven Hatfill against the Times and columnist Nicholas Kristoff. Hatfill claimed he was defamed by columns written by Kristoff about the government's anthrax investigations. A recent article in the Times provides the pertinent background.

As noted in that article, Judge Hilton previously dismissed the case on the grounds that there was no defamation. That dismissal was overturned by the federal court of appeals, and the Supreme Court declined to consider the case. Judge Hilton has not yet issued a memorandum, of decision, but I'll post a link as soon as it is available. Let's hope that this time the judge;s decision is bullet-proof, and that Hatfill decides to accept the second dismissal of his case.

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