Govt not accountable: Jewell libel suit against FBI denied

[Dynamite Bob]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011011/aponline055635_000.htm

Court Upholds Ruling in Jewell
               Suit 

               The Associated Press
               Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001; 5:56 a.m. EDT

               ATLANTA  The state Court of Appeals has upheld a
               judge's ruling that Richard Jewell was a public figure
               when a newspaper identified him as a suspect in the
               1996 bombing at Centennial Olympic Park. 

               The decision Wednesday was a setback for Jewell, who
               filed a libel suit against The Atlanta
               Journal-Constitution after the FBI cleared him of
               wrongdoing three months after the bombing. 

               The appeals court also threw out a lower court's order
               that reporters for the Journal-Constitution must identify
               their sources of information about Jewell. 

               Jewell, who was working as a park security guard
               during the 1996 Olympics, spotted the backpack that
               held the bomb that exploded on July 27, 1996, killing
               one woman and injuring 111 people. 

               While he was initially hailed as a hero for helping
               evacuate the park, he was later investigated by the FBI
               and identified as a suspect by the newspaper. The
               Justice Department cleared him three months later. 

               Jewell's lawyer, Lin Wood, said he would ask the
               Georgia Supreme Court and, if necessary, the U.S.
               Supreme Court to hear the case. 

               Jewell has settled similar lawsuits against ABC, NBC,
               CNN and Piedmont College, his former employer.