Wilson

Wilson's attorney states case against the Journal

July 26, 2001

By Rebeca Pescador

I would like to correct some errors found in the Staff Report in the June 28, 2001, edition of the Cortez Journal regarding Sheila Wilson’ case against the newspaper, the Montezuma County Hospital District Board, and certain individuals associated with them. I have recently entered the case previously handled by Ms. Wilson.

The suit does stem from the April 12, 2000, meeting of the MCHD Board and subsequent words and actions of parties involved. At that meeting, the Board went into an illegal executive session. This illegal session was held in a room which was not closed, even though there were people standing in the hall talking. Ms. Wilson was in the hall talking with another person and overheard what was said. Outraged by the illegal session and what she overheard, she wrote a Letter to the Editor expressing her concerns about the illegal session and what was said there.

At the next MCHD Board meeting, Susan Keck read a letter about Ms. Wilson. That letter by Ms. Keck was defamatory. It accused Ms. Wilson of being "a criminal," of "misrepresenting the facts" and of "inventing information." Kelly McCabe encouraged the Board to press charges. In their call for justice, no one saw fit to discuss the illegal actions of the Board the prior week. There are members of the MCHD Board who have since verified that Ms. Wilson correctly reported the facts.

This community news was reported in the Journal. In the course of reporting the "facts," the Journal chose to include a quote from Ms. Keck’s letter, which happened to be from one of the defamatory portions. Mr. McCabe’s allegations of Ms. Wilson being guilty of a Class 6 Felony were also quoted. The Journal also mentioned discussing with the DA whether the Board had pressed charges.

The Journal also published editorials on the matter, as stated in their recent articles, with defamatory headlines. In the "fair and accurate representation" contained in one editorial, the editors directly compared Ms. Wilson to President Clinton and his sexual immorality scandals. That editorial accused Ms. Wilson of being "undoubtedly paranoid," "overly dramatic," lacking integrity and hinted that the only reason charges were not being brought was to prevent her from becoming a "symbol."

Selected articles and editorials are posted on the Journal’s website. Interestingly enough, every article and editorial which has been written about Ms. Wilson has been selected for publication on the website. Not one of her letters is present.

The Journal’s recent Staff Report made much of the changes in named Defendants and who did or did not own the newspaper at the time in question. What was not reported was the fact that the record is very unclear about the transfer and what interests were kept by Cortez Newspapers, Inc. No contract has been shown to Ms. Wilson or to the Court to spell out who owned what and when. The sale happened in April of 1999, but we have reason to believe that certain rights were retained. We have not been able to get a clear statement of what those rights were. A simple production of the contract would quickly clear up the murky water of ownership at the time.

This case really isn’t about the First Amendment. This case is about a citizen’s right to speak out about actions taken by governmental bodies and be treated fairly and without undue harm to her reputation in the press.

I am sure you will want to correct the inaccuracies in this matter.

Editor's Note: Pescador represents Sheila Wilson in her lawsuit against the Cortez Journal, the Montezuma County Hospital District and others. At the time of the events that Pescador references, Wilson was a candidate for a position on the MCHD board.

As noted in the Cortez Journal’s June 28, 2001, news story on Wilson's lawsuit, the Journal stands behind its coverage of the 2000 MCHD board election. Additionally, the newspaper stands behind the news story which Pescador has criticized. The Cortez Journal is confident that the newspaper's First Amendment right to cover matters of substantial local public interest will be vindicated in court.

In connection with the publication of letters to the editor, it is the standard policy of the newspaper not to post any letters to the editor on the newspaper's website or within the Internet archive at the website. As a result, none of the letters to the editor concerning the Wilson affair, including Wilson's own letters, have been posted on the website.