Ken Burns is one of the most well renowned filmmakers in America and after a court decision on Tuesday regarding his footage from his film about the Central Park jogger rape case, the director can call a victory.
According to NBCNews.com, a federal judge blocked the city of New York from getting their hands on footage and outtakes gathered by Burns for his film "The Central Park Five." The report says that U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis ruled that the city did not show him a strong enough concern to supercede "precious rights of freedom of speech and the press" when it first requested the outtakes and other footage from the film.
The original request was tied to the $250 million federal lawsuit that was filed by the men accused in the rape case after their sentences were later vacated. The original incident fueled racial tensions in the city after a 28-year-old investment banker was raped in the park in April of 1989 and was left in a coma for nearly two weeks, leaving her with permanent damage.
DNA evidence supported the innocence claims of the men and a man that was already in jail confessed to the crime, with the evidence being a match for him. The judge rejected the claims by the city against Florentine Films and filmmakers Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns, saying that they were not independent journalists entitled to reporter's privilege.
The case likely hinged on Florentine, who "established its independence in the making of the film" and may claim the privilege." The judge also said the city did not address the requirements of relevance and significance of the footage and also failed to show that they are not available from another source.
According to city attorney Celeste Koeleveld, lawyer for the city were "disappointed and reviewing our options."
"While journalistic privilege under the law is very important, we firmly believe it did not apply here. This film is a one-sided advocacy piece that depicts the plaintiffs' version of events as undisputed fact. It is our view that we should be able to view the complete interviews, not just those portions that the filmmakers chose to include," the lawyer said in a statement."
Burns and his fellow filmmakers expressed joy about the decision and his lawyer, John Siegal, called it a "marvelous decision for the media industry generally and documentary filmmakers in particular."
Burns originally made statements after the film was completed that asked the city to settle with the plaintiffs to "close this painful chapter in their lives and the life of the city."
At the time, the city was embroiled in racial tension after a number of incidents and the men accused were reportedly coerced into giving their confessions originally.
"By stating this view, we have not forfeited our journalistic integrity any more than any author or columnist or filmmaker who espouses a point-of-view about a story he or she is reporting," Burns wrote.
