Now showing
The Implications of Macdonald V. Mcginniss (1987-09-18)
About this film
Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald was the Green Beret convicted of murdering his own wife and daughters (cf. Firing Line #S580). He had now sued Joe McGinniss, the author of a book on the case, not for libel (where the First Amendment protections would have been clear) but for "fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing," on the grounds that Mr. McGinniss had seemed sympathetic but had wound up concluding that MacDonald was guilty. This hour offers a fascinating tour through the implications of the First Amendment and the workings of our civil court system. JM: "One of the jurors said ... something ... which I found rather chilling, if interesting, and that was, 'We felt there must have been something wrong here or else the judge would not have permitted it to get this far.' "
Directors & creators
Southern Educational Communications Association
Subjects
public broadcasting, AAPB, William F. Buckley Jr., Jeffrey MacDonald, Joe McGinniss, MacDonald v. McGinniss, First Amendment, libel law, civil litigation, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, journalistic ethics, Green Beret murders, Stanford University
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