Crime

Supreme Court Tosses Civil Case Against Cosby

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Kathrine McKee is a former L.A. morning talk show host who alleges Cosby raped her in 1974 in a Detroit hotel room while she was on tour with Sammy Davis Jr., her boyfriend at the time.

Published

6 years ago

February 26, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined review of a case brought by Bill Cosby accuser Kathrine McKee (McKee v. Cosby), who alleged being defamed when Cosby’s attorney characterized her story of being raped four decades ago as a fabricated lie.

In writing the concurring opinion for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas states, “We did not begin meddling in this area until 1964, nearly 175 years after the First Amendment was ratified. The States are perfectly capable of striking an acceptable balance between encouraging robust public discourse and providing a meaningful remedy for reputational harm. We should reconsider our jurisprudence in this area.”

The denial comes five months after the comedian was sentenced to three-to-10 years in prison for aggravated indecent assault.

Before finally weighing in on McKee’s case, the justices deferred consideration nearly a dozen times over the course of several months, a move the Hollywood Reporter speculated could have been the result of sensitivity surrounding the Capitol Hill confirmation fight over Brett Kavanaugh, who himself was accused of sexual misconduct.

Kathrine McKee and Sammy Davis Jr. on stage.

McKee is a former L.A. morning talk show host who alleges Cosby raped her in 1974 in a Detroit hotel room while she was on tour with Sammy Davis Jr., her boyfriend at the time.

Cosby has consistently denied all the allegations against him.

The question presented in McKee’s petition was “whether a victim of sexual misconduct who merely publicly states that she was victimized (i.e., #metoo) has thrust herself to the forefront of a public debate in an attempt to influence the outcome, thereby becoming a limited-purpose public figure who loses her right to recover for defamation absent a showing of actual malice by clear and convincing evidence.”

Cosby’s attorneys presented the question a little differently: “Whether an actress who uses her celebrity status to gain access to national media outlets in order to publicly accuse an international entertainer — already in the midst o a public controversy concerning allegations against him — of additional misconduct is a limited-purpose public figure for purposes of defamation analysis.”

In defamation law, plaintiffs must demonstrate actual malice on the part of public figure defendants in order to prevail in a defamation claim. The precedent was established under the 1964 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan decision and has been extended via several similar cases brought before the court during the intervening 55 years. Per Justice Thomas, “Like many plaintiffs subject to this ‘almost impossible’ standard, McKee was unable to make that showing.”

Applied here, that would mean the statement by Cosby’s ex-attorney Marty Singer, in response to press reports of the alleged rape of McKee by Cosby, was knowingly false or had recklessly disregarded the truth, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“I agree with the Court’s decision not to take up that factbound question. I write to explain why, in an appropriate case, we should reconsider the precedents that require courts to ask it in the first place,” writes Thomas. “New York Times and the Court’s decisions extending it were policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law. Instead of simply applying the First Amendment as it was understood by the people who ratified it, the Court fashioned its own ‘federal rule[s]’ by balancing the ‘competing values at stake in defamation suits.’”

In 2017, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that McKee was a public figure and that she couldn’t demonstrate actual malice.

“I am grateful to the United States Supreme Court and to the federal courts in Massachusetts for upholding the law in this case. I thank each of the Justices for their ruling, which gives me renewed hope that the fair and impartial courts in this country will go on to deliver justice,” Cosby said in a statement released through his publicist on Tuesday.

“This is the very reason, why I, [Bill Cosby] have no remorse because I am innocent and will continue to channel the strength of the great political prisoners. Finally the truth is being allowed to be heard and read by the public,” Cosby said.

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 15 – 21, 2025

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‘In 2024, We Had a Decrease in Shootings and Killings,’ Says Oakland Mayor Nikki Bas and Ceasefire Leaders

“The Ceasefire Strategy is once again being properly implemented and fully executed by all its partners as a data-driven gun violence reduction strategy. It is reducing gun violence in the City of Oakland with remarkable results and tangible improvements. The leadership of Rev. Damita Davis- Howard, Ceasefire director, Dr. Joshi of the Department of Violence Prevention, and the Ceasefire Strategy partners must be commended for this incredible work in ensuring public safety,” said Pastor Michael Wallace, Oakland Public Safety and Services Oversight Commission member.

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Oakland Post

Some faith and community leaders who attended the year-end Ceasefire press conference are (left to right): Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Oakland Mayor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Rev. Michael Wallace, and Brooklyn Williams. Photo by Kevin Hicks.

From Oakland City News Sources

Oakland’s Ceasefire partners, including representatives from the City of Oakland Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), Faith in Action East Bay, and other community leaders held a press conference Monday to discuss year-end reductions in gun violence and share community support for the Ceasefire Strategy.

“Our communities have never wavered from our support of the Ceasefire Strategy. We knew in the beginning that Ceasefire saves the lives of Oakland’s most vulnerable,” said Alba Hernandez, Faith in Action East Bay.

According to the DVP, Oakland will finish 2024 as the safest year since the start of the COVID pandemic. As of Dec. 23, there has been a 35% decrease in murders accompanied by a 33% reduction in nonfatal shootings compared to 2023.

As Oakland’s primary violence reduction strategy, Ceasefire seeks to identify individuals at very high risk of being involved in gun violence. Those high-risk individuals who are arrestable are prioritized for law enforcement action. Others at the highest-risk are informed of their risk and offered intensive community-based services such as life coaching, workforce development, and mental health care.

Ceasefire operates through close coordination and collaboration between the Mayor’s Office, DVP, the Ceasefire director, Oakland Police Department, and the Alameda County Probation Department, with the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) and California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC) providing training and technical assistance.

“I am extremely grateful for the successful resurrection of the Ceasefire Strategy and for the historic declines in shootings and homicides that followed in just one year. I am proud to have worked with [former] Mayor Sheng Thao to reinvest in Ceasefire, and I commend the leadership of Brooklyn Williams in the Mayor’s Office, who has assembled a committed team that is saving lives every day,” said Mayor Nikki Fortunato Bas.

Said Pastor Hopkins, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, “I have been a pastor in Oakland for 36 years, and for each of those years the number of homicides has been a crisis in our community. Ceasefire is an answer to prayer because it serves to save lives by stopping the shooting and serving as a lifeline to healing,”

“The Department of Violence Prevention is grateful for the on-going support of Faith in Action East Bay and committed community leaders,” said Dr. Holly Joshi, chief of the DVP.

“Their vision to bring the Ceasefire strategy to Oakland over a decade ago, advocacy for its initial implementation, and determination to see it successfully re-rooted are commendable. With Ceasefire fully up and running, DVP life coaches and violence interrupters are in communities every day working with high-risk individuals, mediating conflicts, and preventing retaliatory violence. Through hard work, focus, and partnership, we have made significant progress this year in reducing gun violence,” said Joshi.

“The Ceasefire Strategy is once again being properly implemented and fully executed by all its partners as a data-driven gun violence reduction strategy. It is reducing gun violence in the City of Oakland with remarkable results and tangible improvements. The leadership of Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Ceasefire director, Dr. Joshi of the Department of Violence Prevention, and the Ceasefire Strategy partners must be commended for this incredible work in ensuring public safety,” said Pastor Michael Wallace, Oakland Public Safety and Services Oversight Commission member.

“The Oakland Ceasefire Strategy is one of the most comprehensive, intelligence-led violence reduction initiatives I have had the privilege to be a part of and fully support,” said Oakland Police Department Chief Floyd Mitchell.

“The 2024 violent crime reduction data realized by the City of Oakland underscores the effectiveness of our unwavering focus, strategic emphasis, and strong collaborative partnerships within the Ceasefire framework,” Mitchell continued. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Oakland Police Department, and the invaluable contributions of our community, county, state, and federal partners, Oakland has achieved a 34% decrease in homicides, a 33% decline in firearm-related assaults, and a 25% reduction in robberies.”

“Oakland is once again a national leader in gun violence reduction,” said David Muhammad, executive director of NICJR. “Through the hard work of community violence intervention workers in partnership with city staff, police officers, Alameda County Probation, and others, many lives were saved in Oakland this year.”