Georgia judge accuses Ira Glass of libel

• Tom Murphy VII/WIKIMEDIA
• Host Ira Glass has defended the veracity of his report.

The beloved, bespectacled host of NPR's This American Life has been accused of libel by a Georgia superior court judge. In late March, host Ira Glass reported on a peculiar drug court program in Southeast Georgia, one that some say often stands in diametrical opposition to the basic principles of drug courts. Judge Amanda Williams oversees that program. Even though she refused to participate in Glass' research, Williams is now claiming his characterization of her court is erroneous.

In the story "Very Tough Love," Glass basically demonstrated the ways in which Glynn and Camden counties' drug courts differ from those anywhere else in the country. Among other things, Glass said that Williams imposes sanctions that are harsher than the National Association for Drug Court Professionals recommends, and found that she uses unorthodox tactics to recruit participants. "This is the story of when a judge uses her power and starts doing things that other drug courts don't," Glass said during the broadcast. "Things that violate the basic philosophy of all drug courts. After months of investigation, I believe it's likely that no other drug court judge in the country is running a program like Judge Amanda Williams."

On April 8, lawyer and Mercer University professor David Oedel issued a lengthy 14-page letter to Glass on behalf of Williams claiming that the story was "inflammatory" and filled with falsehoods. Oedel even went so far as to say Glass' report could result in future drug deaths:
As serious as they are, though, the damages to Judge Williams pale in comparison to the damages that you have inflicted on the drug court that she supervises, potentially on other drug courts statewide and nationwide in a time of budget crisis, and most importantly, on the addicts who now may not have the privilege of trying drug court thanks to your false story. Your outrageously inaccurate reporting may result in significant losses of drug court funding, losses of drug court participation, and losses of life.

Some of what's outlined in the letter is pretty obvious hair splitting, for instance, in his report Glass said he interviewed one of the drug court participants “in a prison way upstate" — Williams and Oedel contest that he should have said he interviewed her at a prison way upstate since she wasn’t technically an inmate. “Arrendale prison and Arrendale boot camp treatment program are very different settings,” says Oedel.

In the letter's conclusion, Oedel writes that Williams and the others libeled in the story are contemplating how they'll proceed. "I stand ready to discuss your respective liabilities and possible strategies for settlement," said Oedel, "but I must warn you that we are moving forward with legal action."

Both Glass and attorneys representing the program have since responded in defense of the story's content. An attorney with the Chicago-based firm Foley & Lardner reminded Williams and Oedel that the burden of proof in libel cases is "weighty" — because, as plaintiffs, they'd have to prove malice existed — and cited several cases they say prove that opinions about judicial behavior aren't actually actionable.

H/T to Daily Report and ATLawblog.com