Sunday, August 07, 2022

I Thought I Was Through With The Jones Trial

So begin here. You would think the verdict was the important thing:
According to the legal expert, "This is not only a large blow to Jones, who has already filed for bankruptcy, but to other conspiracy-theory fomenters who fill their audiences’ heads with stories of the deep state, a stolen election and a child-sex ring in the basement of a pizza restaurant," with Sweeny adding, "Jones styles himself as a media broadcaster, and the media has historically been given a lot of latitude in publishing statements that are even partially false. That latitude has helped modern partisan news sites like Newsmax and Breitbart to use their platforms to spread outlandish theories with impunity." 
Among those who are already looking at pricey legal repercussions is Fox News in a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. 
"Fox News is currently being sued for $1.6 billion by Dominion Voting Systems for Fox News’ claim that Dominion voting machines helped to rig the 2020 presidential election. The verdict against Jones should serve as a warning to the network and all the other conspiracy-peddlers out there. Repeating nonsense theories from 4chan or Reddit may not be protected free speech even if you attempt to disguise it as 'questioning known liars in the media," she wrote. 
"The size of the verdict validates the strategy of going after conspiracy theorists on grounds of defamation. That’s significant because, though it has been argued that some of Jones’ activity crosses the line into outright criminal incitement, it’s much harder to make a case on that score," she added.
You would be wrong.

The problem with this decision as a model for others lies in that default judgment. None of the issues of slander and the 1st Amendment were raised. Those issues could be defenses in other cases. Change the facts, change the outcome. Plaintiffs might be inspired to sue; that doesn’t mean they will as easily win. And winning doesn’t mean the victory won’t be Pyrrhic.

The trial in Texas was only over damages, not liability. Civil discovery is incredibly broad. Even medical records could be discovered . The famous text messages here were demanded in discovery, but Jones told his lawyers he didn’t have any, because he didn’t want them seen (and become part of the court records, whether they were used in open court or not). He didn’t want them public. A default judgment was not the protection he imagined it to be; but he also has plans to evade collection, or he’d have paid lawyers to defend him. Like most defendants with money, Jones’ actions in these cases should be understood as economic decisions. He figures he can cut his losses by reducing legal fees as much as possible, and hiding as much as he can from collection. There’s a reason he hasn’t filed personal bankruptcy yet. But that step is still there.

This verdict may seem like a green light for more defamation suits. But it ain’t necessarily so. The Jones case hasn’t even been reduced to judgment yet (the enforceable court order). The court may still reduce the punitive damages award. That one Texas case has years to go. Jones may yet spend all his money on lawyers and judgments; but the mark of this case on others is not likely to be all that clear.
This really makes as much sense as sayin’ the dam is bust and all the liars will now pay the price. Jones uses it to grift. The people on TeeVee just use it to get on TeeVee.
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