Zimmerman to resume defamation suit against NBC

After a Florida jury found him not guilty of second degree murder in the shooting death of Treyvon Martin, George Zimmerman is resuming his lawsuit against NBC News for erroneously quoting him about Martin, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.” Zimmerman claims that the misquote makes him appear racist. (The Washington Post, July 14, 2013, by Eric Wemple)

NBC said it did not intend to misrepresent Zimmerman but the original quote was edited to fill allotted air time. NBC fired a reporter and producer responsible for the error and said it had not intended to portray Zimmerman unfairly.  (NewsBusters, July 14, 2013, by Matthew Sheffield)

Some legal analysts are saying that Zimmerman faces an uphill battle to prove defamation since he must prove actual malice that they knew the information was false and published it or had a reckless disregard for the truth. (Variety, July 13, 2013, by Ted Johnson)