Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein WILL be allowed to sue Netflix for defamation over her portrayal – played by Felicity Huffman –  in When They See Us

A federal judge has ordered Netflix to face a defamation lawsuit filed by former Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein, who claims scenes from “When They See Us” depict her by name and feature her as a “false and defamatory day”.

Judge P. Kevin Castel announced that the defamation trial could continue Tuesday, indicating plausible evidence that Netflix, director Ava DuVernay, and writer-producer Attica Locke acted maliciously in writing the series.

Fairstein was portrayed by Felicity Huffman in “When They See Us”, a four-episode series about the 1989 Central Park Five case, released on Netflix in 2019.

The story of the miniseries – and that of the Central Park Five – concerns five black men who were wrongly convicted of what became an infamous violent sexual assault in 1989.

In Tuesday’s ruling in Fairstein v. Netflix, Inc., Judge Castel said the show’s writers emphasized the more negative aspects of Fairstein’s character in order to increase dramatic tension.

“Plaintiff Linda Fairstein is the former head of the Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She claims scenes from “When They See Us” misrepresent her by name and portray her in a false and defamatory light.

The 67-page decision states that Netflix, DuVernay and Locke “reverse engineered to attribute actions, responsibilities and views to Fairstein that were not his own and are not supported by the substantial body of evidence.” of research documents of the accused”.

“Defendant Ava DuVernay, who is the writer, director and producer of the series, said that Fairstein ‘represents the criminal justice system and the criminal justice system is the villain of the show.’

“This representation was grounded and supported both by our sources and by the point of view we expressed.” The role of Fairstein is played by well-known actress Felicity Huffman, and in the series the character is depicted as personally responsible for orchestrating almost every aspect of the investigation and prosecution of the Five.

The document also notes that the disc contains creative notes in which Netflix employees “suggested accentuating the more negative aspects of Fairstein’s character to create dramatic tension and advance storytelling goals.”

Additionally, he claims that the extensive research materials used by DuVernay and two of his co-authors included sources critical of the Five’s convictions and the techniques of the New York police and prosecutors, but “these materials do not describe Fairstein taking these steps.”

“In some cases, research attributes these actions to other individuals by name,” the paper adds.

The Manhattan district judge said jurors should be given the opportunity to choose whether there is “clear and convincing evidence that the defendants were recklessly indifferent to the truth.”

In 2019, Fairstein called the Netflix series a “pure fabrication”, saying it had been unfairly portrayed and noting that the Central Park Five members’ other crimes should not be forgotten even if they had been cleared of rape.

In 2021, the judge ruled that a defamation suit against Netflix and filmmaker Ava DuVernay over the miniseries could proceed to discovery.

Fairstein was head of the Manhattan District Attorney’s sex crimes unit when Raymond Santana, 14, Kevin Richardson, 15, Antron McCray, 15, Yusef Salaam, 15, and Korey Wise, 16, were accused of raping and assaulting Trisha Meili in 1989.

While Fairstein was head of the Manhattan District Attorney’s sex crimes unit at the time, she did not personally prosecute the men whose convictions were later overturned based on DNA evidence and confessions ulterior motives of another man.

Castel said that while there was much in Fairstein’s complaint that was not actionable, she plausibly alleged defamation relating to five scenes.

These include scenes in which she is shown hiding evidence, coercing confessions, and leading a racist police roundup of young men in Harlem.

“These scenes show Fairstein as orchestrating acts of misconduct, including the concealment of evidence, the existence of “tapes” showing that she “coerced” the confessions of the Five, the instruction not to use “gloves of kid” during the interrogation of suspects and the direction of a racist police raid against young men in Harlem, declares the judge.

“The average viewer might conclude that these scenes have a factual basis and do not simply reflect the creators’ opinions on controversial historical events.”

In 2002, their convictions were overturned following the prison confession of serial rapist Matias Reyes and the discovery of his DNA on some of the victim’s personal effects.

The five sued the City of New York, dozens of New York Police Department officers and detectives and three prosecutors, including Fairstein.

The case was settled in 2014 when the men received a $41 million settlement and the Central Park Five became synonymous with miscarriage of justice and institutional racism in the American legal system.

Since the 2019 release of When They See Us, Fairstein has lost a book deal, been forced to resign from the board of Vassar College and three nonprofit organizations, and faced backlash over social networks.

After the series premiered, a hashtag #CancelLindaFairstein became popular, calling for a boycott of Fairstein, then a successful crime novelist.

Fairstein said she was fired by her publisher and forced to resign from the boards of her alma mater Vassar College and three nonprofit organizations, including two that support victims of sexual violence.

The defendants had called Fairstein’s account “revisionist history” and said the First Amendment right to free speech allowed them to present their point of view.