Supreme Court Declines Nicholas Sandmann Case

The Supreme Court has decided not to give Nicholas Sandmann his day in court against several media outlets he was suing.

Sandmann, if you recall, was the high school student who was portrayed as a racist by several news outlets after he had a confrontation outside the Capitol with a Native American activist in 2019.

Several outlets had already settled with Sandmann for an undisclosed amount, so this denial had to be a surprise for Sandmann.

Lower Court Decision Stands

With Sandmann being rejected by the court, the decision at the appellate level will now stand.

This means that Sandmann’s remaining cases, which included ABC News and The New York Times, will be dismissed.

Sandmann has gotten paid, however, as his suits against CNN and NBC Universal were both settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

In the petition to have the Supreme Court accept his appeal, his attorneys asked:

“Do statements conveying observed sensory impressions in factual, descriptive terms constitute protected ‘opinion’ under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States?”

“Did the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit effectively eliminate the distinction between fact and opinion articulated in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Company, 497 U.S. 1 (1990)?”

His petition stated:

“Sandmann was denounced by his church diocese, denied re-admission to his high school, and attacked in the national media.

“Round-the-clock police protection was assigned to his house; his visage was featured on nearly all major television outlets, with celebrity commentators stating that they would ‘like to punch him in the face,’ and worse.”

It is a shame the court would not take his case because most of us were hoping that Sandmann would make an example of mainstream media, which regularly attacks conservatives and jumps to far too many conclusions before all the facts are in, including Sandmann’s actions in this video…

Covington Catholic student, Nicholas Sandmann, will sue additional news outlets over their coverage of his March for Life ‘standoff.’ pic.twitter.com/O5iZTkutsK

— Fox & Friends First (@FoxFriendsFirst) March 2, 2020

Instead, the 2-1 appellate ruling will stand, which stated that the reported actions by Sandmann at the time against the activist, Nathan Phillips, were only Phillips expressing his perception of Sandmann’s actions and his intent.