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 U.S. District Judge Kevin
Castel in Manhattan said Fairstein had plausibly
alleged defamation as to five scenes, including
that she withheld evidence, coerced confessions
and directed a racially discriminatory police
roundup of young men in Harlem.
"The average viewer could conclude that these
scenes have a basis in fact and do not merely
reflect the creators' opinions about
controversial historical events," the judge
wrote.
Castel said Fairstein could also pursue
defamation claims against both the series'
director, Ava DuVernay, and against Attica
Locke, a writer and producer, and civil
conspiracy claims against the three defendants.
He dismissed some other claims.
"We'll continue to vigorously defend 'When They
See Us' and the incredible team behind the
series, and we're confident that we'll prevail
against Ms. Fairstein's few remaining claims,"
Netflix said in a statement.
The Los Gatos, California-based company was
responding to requests for comment on behalf of
all defendants.
Fairstein's lawyer Andrew Miltenberg said he was
"exceptionally pleased" with the decision,
saying the four-part series falsely depicted his
client as "engaging in coercive and
discriminatory conduct in order to build a case
against innocent young men of color."
Fairstein was running the sex crimes unit of the
Manhattan District Attorney's office in April
1989 when a 28-year-old white female jogger,
later identified as Trisha Meili, was beaten and
raped in Central Park.
Five male Black or Hispanic
teenagers were convicted and spent five to 13
years in prison before being exonerated in 2002
when another man confessed to the crime.
They reached a $41 million civil settlement in
2014 with New York City, which did not admit
wrongdoing.
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 The case has long been a focal point of
discussion about crime and racism.
After the series' premiere, a hashtag #CancelLindaFairstein
called for a boycott of Fairstein, by then a
best-selling crime novelist.
Fairstein said she was dropped by her publisher
and forced to resign from boards of her alma
mater Vassar College and three nonprofits,
including two that support victims of sexual
violence.
The defendants had called Fairstein's account
"revisionist history" and said their First
Amendment free speech rights allowed them to
present their viewpoint. The case is Fairstein v. Netflix Inc et al, U.S.
District Court, Southern District of New York,
No. 20-08042.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York;
Editing by Dan Grebler and Sonya Hepinstall)
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