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Report Archive:
June 26, 2000:
Another
Judge Says 'No' to Hearing Wilson/Akre v Fox Case
June 21, 2000:
Still No
Judge To Hear Fox/BGH Case While Foxes Dishes More Distortion To WTVT Tampa
Viewers
June 16, 2000:
Trial
Date Pushed Back Again; New Judge To Be Selected
June 8, 2000:
Fox
Manager Who Fired Akre and Wilson In Tampa Gets Big Promotion
David Boylan Flies Into The Sunset to Manage KTTV, Los Angeles
June 6, 2000:
Fox Trial
Will Start Sooner Than Expected
It will proceed in the heat of the summer, probably in July
May 25, 2000:
Fox Trial
Will Not Start June 12 as Scheduled
May 18, 2000:
Fox Still
Stalls on Testimony of Its president Mitchell Stern
Pre-trial hearing is otherwise uneventful
May
8, 2000:
Ralph Nader
Testifies About Broadcasters' Public Interest Requirement
Presidential candidate gives testimony at pre-trial depo
May 5, 2000:
Court-ordered Mediation Is Brief and
Unsuccessful
Trial set to begin June 12
April 28,2000:
Fox Challenges rBGH
Experts At Depositions
Fox lawyers laying ground-
work to tell jurors experts are cancer scaremongers?
April 26,2000:
Walter Cronkite
Testifies on Behalf of Akre & Wilson
Fox lawyers lodge objections
October 19:
Fox Lawyers Insist On Secrecy At Deposition
French TV Ejected
October 18:
FDA Wants Comments on G-M Foods
Public Meetings Start in November
October 13:
Judge Rules: Trial Will Proceed:
Defense loses third effort to have case dismissed
September 24:
MSNBC:
Gene-modified foods might get labels:
Industry weighs voluntary steps, U.S. studies options as well
September 20:
Trial Still Set to Start Soon:
Busy Docket Delays foxBGHsuit
August 4:
MSNBC:
Mutable Feast:
Will the fight over gene-altered food products leapfrog across the Atlantic?
June 30:
Consumers International:
UN Health Group Shuns BGH
June 1:
New York Times:
Farmers Right To Sue Grows - Food Warning Muzzle Likely
May 10:
Corporate Crime Reporter:
Monsanto Officials Join Leading Consumer, Environmental Groups
May 3:
Fox Deceives Viewers in Primetime,
Too
Net Admits Staging after INSIDE EDITION Report
April 30:
Democracy Group Award to
Akre/Wilson
Fired Reporters Cited for "Courage in Journalism"
April 29:
New Trial Date is October
11
Fox Piles On Big-Name Lawyers
April 17:
Clinton Lawyer Joins Fox
Legal Team
David Kendall Involvement Confirmed in Letter to Monsanto
April 16:
Fox Pleads for Another Delay
Later Trial Date to be Set April 29th
April 1:
Judge Says BGH Case Will
Go To Trial
Opening Gavel Falls May 10th
February 16:
PENTHOUSE Exposes BGH,
Fox Coverup:
First-rate story of BGH situation and lawsuit against Fox TV
(rated G -- no nudity, just the story)
January 25:
ENS
Summary of BGH Developments
January 14:
How Fox Wanted to Slant News
of Canadian Concerns
Canadian BGH Concerns Were Big Issue In Firing of Fox Reporters
January 14:
Canada Says NO to BGH!
Read the CBC Story or 
January 14:
Health Canada Rejects Bovine Growth Hormone in Canada
Government News Release
December 16:
Akre & Wilson Win Courage
Award
For Work On Story Which Cost Them Their Jobs
December 15:
ABC NEWS Catches Up on BGH
Read the ABC Story or
November 7:
FOX Legal (8/28) Answers
to Reporters' Complaint Now Available
November 1:
Monsanto
and Fox: Partners in Censorship
PR Watch - Showcase Article
October 30:
Canadians Probe Coverup Claim
Read CBC Story or
October 24:
Reporters Get Top SPJ Ethics
Award
October 22:
BGH Issue Explodes in Canada:
Read CBC Story or
October 7:
SECRET Canadian Study Leaked...
...BGH safety questions unanswered?
Sept 13:
Akre-Wilson Depos Start
Sept 10:
TIMES/St. Petersburg
SP Times covers NutraSweet flap
Sept 10:
Our Story: Fox Still Protecting
Monsanto?
Sept 8:
Fox Pulls Plug on NutraSweet
Foe
Sept 1:
Reporters Respond To Defense
READ
story FOX-TV refused to air...
or
July 14:
Judge refuses to dismiss
all but one count of reporters' suit
July 5:
OBSERVER/London
Digger Still Plays Dirty
July 1:
Depositions Continue, Trial Date
Set
June 7:
TIMES/St. Petersburg
Akre/Wilson Preparing FCC Complaint
May 26:
Judge rejects Defense motion
for Protective Order
May 25:
WEEKLY PLANET/Tampa:
Grazing A Stink
- - -Don't Have a Cow
May 23:
NEW YORK TIMES:
(Silenced) Reporters... Post Web Site
May 21:
Wilson/Akre demand on-air correction
April 29:
FOX-TV asks court:
Dismiss case
and Delay depositions
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Fox Plea For Further
Delay Rejected
STEINBERG GETS CASE BACK;
READY TO GET THINGS MOVING
By STEVE WILSON
| TAMPA
(June 30, 2000)--After searching for nearly two weeks, state court
officials have given up on the idea of finding a retired senior
judge who can hear the
high-profile case of Wilson and Akre v Fox Television. The
case is now back in the hands of Judge Ralph Steinberg who says unexpected
developments in two other cases have suddenly cleared a path for the
Fox case to move along at last. |
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Judge Steinberg
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At a hearing this afternoon, Steinberg decided both sides should be
ready to present all disputed issues to him next Thursday morning and
every effort should be made to get the case to trial as soon
thereafter as possible.
The ruling means a jury
could be selected and the case started as soon as the week of July
10. |
Judge
Steinberg opened Friday's hearing by recounting how the case was
removed from his docket earlier this month by administrative Judge
Robert Bonnano in an apparent effort to ease Steinberg's heavy
caseload.
He explained the Wilson/Akre
case is now back in his hands due to trouble finding a retired judge
who had the time to hear it this summer, coupled with surprise
developments in two other cases pending before him.
Judge Steinberg had been
set to hear another case starting Monday but that dispute
unexpectedly settled yesterday. A lengthy tobacco case also
scheduled to be heard in July now apparently needs to be delayed in
wake of a ruling just handed down from the state District Court of
Appeals.
While he seemed ready to start
the Wilson/Akre v Fox trial as early as Monday, both sides
explained the case could not begin that quickly due to several
pending motions which must first be ruled on to determine what
evidence will be allowed. Only after those decision are
made can both sides put together their final exhibits and be ready
to go before a jury, both sides agreed.
Co-plaintiff Steve
Wilson, representing himself, proposed that the judge hear and rule
on all pending disputes next week right after the July 4th holiday,
give both sides the following week to make final trial preparations,
and then begin the trial Monday, July 17.
Chief defense counsel
William McDaniels objected. He claimed many defense witnesses
who have been standing by for the trial to get underway during June
and July could not appear at trial in Tampa during
August.
McDaniels suggested the
judge assign a "date certain" later in the year. The
Washington lawyer representing Fox went on to explain that he has a
lengthy trial on another matter starting in October in Memphis and
would need September to prepare for that. With Steinberg
retiring in December, it quickly became clear that a delay beyond
July would mean yet another judge and a delay well into next
year.
Co-plaintiff Jane Akre's
attorney Tom Johnson strongly objected, saying two delays requested
by the defendants more than a year ago were responsible for getting
the trial off-track in the first place.
Echoing comments made
earlier by Wilson, Johnson made it clear that yet another delay
would likely spell doom for the unemployed reporters to financially
survive long enough to ever get their case before a jury.
McDaniels countered that
the defense should not be expected to proceed with a trial at a time
many of its witnesses had planned their summer vacations in
August.
He repeatedly complained
to the judge that "we've been here since early June" and
argued that two years was not a terribly long time to wait for a
matter to come to trial. (The case was filed April 2, 1998 and
has had at least five trial dates.)
The judge suggested key witnesses
could be videotaped for presentation at trial, or even give their testimony
from some remote location live by satellite. A key witness for
the plaintiffs, Dr. Samuel Epstein, was recorded in Chicago last
week because he has travel plans to be in Italy during the trial
period.
"Let's give it a
shot," the judge ultimately concluded.
The judge made it clear
that if the trial does not get underway in July, there is truly no
telling when the matter could be heard. He set 9 a.m.
next Thursday for arguments on all pending disputes and suggested
both sides meet to try and resolve as many matters as possible to
streamline the process.
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