Meet Attorney Behind Victory for Sandy Hook Family in Wisconsin
Quarles & Brady partner Emily Feinstein joined the plaintiff's team when she read about the story of Leonard Pozner, a parent whose child died in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
October 22, 2019 at 06:04 PM
5 minute read
When Quarles & Brady partner Emily Feinstein read about Sandy Hook parent Leonard Pozner's lawsuit against Sandy Hook denier James Fetzer, she knew she wanted to be part of the case.
Feinstein, a Wisconsin attorney who has two small children, said she gets the dockets of lawsuits filed in Wisconsin, and the Pozner case intrigued her. What followed for Feinstein was something she said she never could have imagined: a defendant who said a mass murder never occurred; who doubted that grieving father Pozner was the real Leonard Pozner; and who said Pozner's son's death certificate was a fraud.
A Wisconsin jury saw things differently from Fetzer, a retired University of Minnesota at Duluth professor. It awarded Pozner $450,000 on Oct. 15 over conspiracy theories that are likely to have an impact in similar cases in Connecticut.
Fetzer and his attorney, Madison, Wisconsin-based Richard Bolton, have already said they will appeal. Bolton did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Feinstein said the Sandy Hook mass shooting was "heartbreaking" for her, and she wanted to do anything she could to help Pozner, who sued for defamation over a book Fetzer co-authored, "Nobody Died at Sandy Hook."
"I had just come back from work after my second maternity leave when Sandy Hook happened," Feinstein said of the December 2012 massacre in which shooter Adam Lanza took the lives of 20 schoolchildren and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "There has always been a place in my heart for those families. When I saw what this poor father went through in bringing this lawsuit, I wanted to do what I could to help."
So Feinstein, pro bono coordinator for her firm, called up husband-and-wife Minneapolis attorneys Jake and Genevieve Zimmerman, asking if she could come on board, and offer her services free of charge. The Zimmermans agreed to collaborate with Feinstein and her colleagues Marisa Berlinger and Emily Steadman.
Feinstein, who picked the jury and argued motions in front of the judge, said the bizarre nature of the case soon became evident.
"At the first hearing in the case, Mr. Fetzer demanded that Mr. Pozner prove he was Mr. Pozner," the attorney said. "It was a scheduling conference, and we suspected he'd try these shenanigans. The judge said, 'No, it's not going to work.' I've never had another case like this."
'Fake, forged or fabricated'
Since summary judgment was granted in June, the jury was only looking at how much to award Pozner. The strategy going in, Feinstein said, "was not to litigate whether the shooting happened, rather this was a narrowly tailored defamation case."
"We were just addressing four statements made by Mr. Fetzer," she said.
Among the alleged defamatory statements: three references in Fetzer's book and one in a blog post about the death certificate of 6-year-old Noah Pozner.
"He kept on saying the death certificate was fake, forged or fabricated," Feinstein said. "We hinged our case on that, and just needed to get the authentic copy of the death certificate."
But Feinstein said even that was not good enough for Fetzer, who claimed that since certain parts of the certificate appeared to be shaded, the document was fraudulent.
While Fetzer and Bolton tried to center the litigation around the First Amendment's free-speech protections, Feinstein argued otherwise.
"The First Amendment gives the right to free speech, but it doesn't give them the right to be free from responsibility for the effects of their speech," she said.
Feinstein applauded the jury's conclusion.
"It's the first case that went to verdict against these hoaxsters," she said. "It's incredibly validating that the jury gave significant damages against a relatively minor player like Mr. Fetzer."
Another surprise at trial: the emotions displayed.
"The jury was crying during opening statements," Feinstein said, "Then when Mr. Pozner testified, my goodness, the judge appeared to be crying. He wiped an eye or two."
Feinstein said Fetzer never made physical threats against Pozner, but those who read his book allegedly did.
"A woman who made threats against Mr. Pozner mentioned the book," Feinstein said. "That book has had a big impact on Mr. Pozner. When misinformation like that is out there, it's dangerous."
Pozner's case went to trial as other Sandy Hook families have brought a defamation suit against right-wing radio host and InfoWars star Alex Jones. That litigation is pending in Connecticut. Soon after the school shooting, Jones denied the massacre. He has since walked back those statements.
Related stories:
Conn. Legal Experts Weigh In on Wis. Jury Verdict Secured for Sandy Hook Parent
Sandy Hook Families Hire Ex-Solicitor General Verrilli for Fight With Gunmaker Remington
Lawyers for Alex Jones, Sandy Hook Families Make Oral Arguments in Defamation Suit
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