Court TV has issued a correction after Law&Crime sued the network for falsely advertising they were the only channel offering gavel-to-gavel coverage of live trials. Law&Crime filed the lawsuit, which was moved to the Southern District of New York after the repeated false claims by Court TV, according to court paperwork.
“Court TV’s misrepresentations finally hit a tipping point in March, 2021, when it attempted to exploit the death of George Floyd with false statements about its coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial,” the lawsuit, filed back in March, stated. The Law&Crime Network, along with a handful of other national outlets, also broadcasted the Chauvin trial and sent multiple reporters to Minneapolis.
On its website over the weekend, Court TV posted a “CORRECTION” stating “marketing materials promoting Court TV prior to the trial of Derek Chauvin incorrectly stated that Court TV is the only multi-platform network devoted to live, gavel-to-gavel coverage, legal reporting, and analysis of trials. The network Law&Crime also provides live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of many trial with its own legal reporting and analysis, including coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial. Court TV regrets the error.”
The lawsuit was filed shortly after Court TV was appointed by the court to serve as the “pool” camera during the Derek Chauvin proceedings. “Rather than serving the public interest as is expected when serving as the pool camera, Court TV has been exploiting its duty. By sending out paid press releases to falsely promote itself and its coverage as the sole outlet for the Chauvin Trial to the detriment of the public and Law&Crime Network,” the lawsuit stated.
According to court records, the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed on Monday. Court TV posted the correction on its website over the weekend. Law&Crime did not ask for any monetary damages in the lawsuit.
[Image of correction via screenshot of Court TV website]
