Judge: Suicide Victim's Family Can Sue NBC

(AP)  A $105 million lawsuit brought by a woman who claims a sex sting by "Dateline NBC: To Catch A Predator" drove her brother to kill himself can go to trial, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said a jury might conclude the network "crossed the line from responsible journalism to irresponsible and reckless intrusion into law enforcement."

Louis William Conradt Jr., a suburban Dallas prosecutor, fatally shot himself after he was accused of engaging in a sexually explicit online chat with an adult posing as a 13-year-old boy, according to a lawsuit filed by his sister.

In the lawsuit, Patricia Conradt said NBC "steamrolled" police to arrest her brother after telling police he failed to show up at a sting operation 35 miles away.

NBC was working with the activist group Perverted Justice on the sting, in which officers impersonating underage girls establish online chats with men and try to lure them to a house, where they are met by TV cameras and police.

Chin said the lawsuit contained sufficient facts to make it plausible that the suicide was foreseeable, that police had a duty to protect Conradt from killing himself, and that the officers and NBC acted with deliberate indifference.

Amanda Leith, a lawyer for NBC Universal, had no comment on the ruling. The company previously called the lawsuit "completely without merit." A spokeswoman for the company did not immediately return a telephone message.

Bruce Baron, a lawyer for Patricia Conradt, said: "This decision shows no one is above the law, no matter how powerful."

Chin tossed out many of Patricia Conradt's claims but said her principal claims could proceed to trial.

In his ruling, Chin said the network "placed itself squarely in the middle of a police operation, pushing the police to engage in tactics that were unnecessary and unwise, solely to generate more dramatic footage for a television show."

Chin wrote that a reasonable jury could find there was no legitimate law enforcement need for a heavily armed SWAT team to extract a 56-year-old prosecutor from his home when he was not accused of any actual violence and was not believed to have a gun.

He said a jury might conclude it was done solely to sensationalize and enhance the entertainment value of the arrest.

"A reasonable jury could find that by doing so, NBC created a substantial risk of suicide or other harm, and that it engaged in conduct so outrageous and extreme that no civilized society should tolerate it," Chin said.

Before issuing his ruling, Chin said he reviewed a copy of the Feb. 20, 2007 episode. In her lawsuit, Patricia Conradt claims a police officer at the scene of the shooting told a "Dateline" producer: "That'll make good TV."

[catlynlawson]

give me a break......

[grammawhamma]

I also agree that this show is sickening. It borders on the same kind of cr@p as Jerry Springer or the Morrie show.

My point is this guy killed himself because he knew he did something wrong and couldn''t face up to his reputation being ruined. I still say you can''t be entrapped if you don''t do anything wrong.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by kiokwus at 12:13 AM

I completely agree with you. This should not be entertainment. Chris Hansen will never have my respect for making this entertainment. It is unethical.

[rudy654-2009]

Well Rudy, when the cops knock at my door I don''''t commit suicide, I answer the door because I know I didn''''t do anything wrong. Posted by GrammaWhamma at 04:39 AM

That is overly simplistic and narrow-minded. A lady from East Berlin, of aristocracy, was helping people to escape to the West. When the Stasi came for her, sadly she committed suicide. Why do you think she committed suicide? Because she did something wrong?

[kiokwus]

Again for you arm chair vigilantes, the professionals are trained to locate and arrest those who commit a crime, any crime. Having any TV show their for the sole purpose to make a "entertainment show" speaks volumes to the legality of the event. The use of self proclaimed "vigilantes" to participate in a "sting" has flaws as well, enough to force prosecutors to drop any charges and to shy away from even charging anyone in the first place.

True there are sick people out there. True these people need to be taken off the streets. It is also true that unless law enforcement has total control of any sting or otherwise, the use of vigilantes is nothing short of using criminals to catch suspect offenders. This is pure entrapment and the "hired" criminals are no different than those suspected of committing a crime.

Entertainment and vigilante justice have no need for participation in law enforcement activities. Law enforcement are the professionals and have been trained to do their job, so let them do their job and keep any others out of the picture.

[rowdytexan2]

Sue the hell out of NBC...they are selling sick entertainment, under the guise of fighting crime.

They are in the entertainment business to get ratings and make money. Anyone sitting in their tv chair watching this kind of krap is as sick as any pervert. What in the world would anyone get out of watching somebody elses bad life displayed on tv is beyond me. Does it help you feel better about your shabby life or something? Does your own life need pumping up that bad?

The man was, in fact talking to an adult, he did not show up for YOUR entertainment at the sting site! He did not break the law! Yet he was arrested and taken out like some kind of terrorist! Your nazi tv at work!

Good grief!

[tomanyt]

GrammaWhamma...Maybe you should go back and read the story again!!! Clearly, you didn''t get it the first time around.

[grammawhamma]

Well Rudy, when the cops knock at my door I don''t commit suicide, I answer the door because I know I didn''t do anything wrong.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by cori1979 at 12:13 AM

So you think this should be about someone''s entertainment? If so, you are as bad as the perps.

[rudy654-2009]

To those of you screaming "entrapment". I will ask this question one more time...if you are a good person, law abiding etc...how can you be entrapped?? Posted by GrammaWhamma at 02:59 AM

Well, let''s just say, are we informed enough to know what was going on in this man''s head when he chatted with someone on an internet site? Do we know for sure that he thought the individual was just 13? We don''t know. But what we do know is that he didn''t show up for the sting. So, that means that 1) his internet activity did not involve a chat with anyone illegal, so he didn''t break the law. People are often anonymous on the internet and are not who they say they are. 2) He did not go to actually meet the person, so it could have been just pure nonsense for him.

But then they went after him anyway. Yes, that is entrapment. For you Bible thumpers, your Adam and Eve were entrapped. The serpent sets the scenario and Eve is the first to fall prey. Does God suddenly give a medal to the serpent for what he did? No. Instead the serpent is cursed. Now. This man was entrapped in a worse fashion, especially in that he never carried out an illegal act. Law enforcement went after him when he didn''t show up for the media broadcast.