Department of Justice lawyer Gwynn Kinsey’s lawsuit against the New York Times was dismissed.
Kinsey sued over the 2018 article, “At the Justice Dept.’s Death Penalty Unit, accusations of Favoritism, Gender Bias and Unwanted Groping.” The article reported allegations that Kinsey groped an administrative assistant citing a declaration from an intern.
The lawsuit was dismissed however because Judge Vernon Broderick found the article accurately reported on a legal document, the New York Daily News reported. Broderick ruled, “(Kinsey) was reassigned prior to the publication of the Article, and I therefore find that Plaintiff was reassigned due to the incident itself or for some other reason, but not the alleged defamatory statement.”
Kinsey’s attorney Barry Coburn told iMediaEthics by e-mail, “We are disappointed in the result. We are reviewing Judge Broderick’s opinion and considering next steps. “
Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha told iMediaEthics, “Our article told the story of a young woman whose complaints about mistreatment at the Justice Department had gone unheeded. The article fairly and accurately brought to public attention the rampant mismanagement of a critical department within Justice. This kind of journalism is core to our mission. We’re pleased that the court dismissed the libel case.”