"Dateline" Judged by Jury

Posted Feb 26th 2008 4:13PM by TMZ Staff

A New York judge has refused to throw out a $100 million lawsuit brought by the family of a man who committed suicide after police, accompanied by a camera crew from "Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator," showed up at his house to arrest him.

The lawsuit, brought by the sister of former Kaufman County, Tex. Districy Attorney Louis "Bill" Contradt Jr., alleges that NBC and police acted with deliberate indifference to Contradt and that cops had a duty to protect him. She says, "Apparently unable to face the humiliation of the public spectacle that faced him, Conradt took his own life."

Cops say Conradt solicited sex from a decoy online posing as a 13-year-old boy as part of a sting operation conducted jointly by "Dateline NBC" and the internet watch dog group Perverted Justice.

Amanda Leith, a lawyer for NBC Universal, had no comment on the ruling. The company previously called the lawsuit "completely without merit."

Bruce Baron, the lawyer for Patricia Contradt, tells TMZ, "This decision sends a strong message to law enforcement officials throughout our country, that you may not subcontract your uniform, badge, and the oath you take."

Filed under: Celebrity Justice, TV

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(Page 1 of 17) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

1. I'm gonna sue Chris Hanson! Oops...

Posted at 4:17PM on Feb 26th 2008 by Cartman

2. Hi, have a seat. What were planning on doing here tonight...............

Posted at 4:19PM on Feb 26th 2008 by FlBiker

3. Wow! I wondered what would happen if someone eventually killed themselves over this show.

Posted at 4:19PM on Feb 26th 2008 by Lucky

4. more of these prervert should commit suscide!!!

Posted at 4:20PM on Feb 26th 2008 by s

5. Boo hoo...a perverted, child-molesting piece of garbage took his life when he got caught...I can't help but feel bad for his family, but I rejoice in the knowledge that he will not live to abuse another little girl. GOOD RIDDANCE!

Posted at 4:20PM on Feb 26th 2008 by Cynic

6. Okay.. It's sad the man took his own life, but he made the decison to do that. No one put a gun up to his head and told him to shoot it. I am a mother of a teenager and I wouldn't want my daughter or son molested by some perverted older man. This man was a District Attorney. He knew it was wrong to contact a minor for sex. The only people I feel sorry for is for the family of the man who shot himself. He was selfish and took his own life, not thinking of the turmoil he left behind. I think this lawsuit is bogus. I should have been thrown out.

Posted at 4:20PM on Feb 26th 2008 by Rebecca

7. Dateline should be congratulated if anything, if the result is one less sick bugger roaming the streets I say -- BRAVO, keep up the good work. That's what I call interactive television.

Posted at 4:21PM on Feb 26th 2008 by JRS

8. Jenny Jones set precident in the PUBLIC OUTING with her FORMER show........

Posted at 4:22PM on Feb 26th 2008 by Special ED

9. I think the law suit will go in favor of the paintiff. They went to his house, with a camera crew to arrest him. IIt's another thing to have him come to you, like in the show, but the cops took the camera crew right to him. Either way the guy was in trouble, and is a pervert, but cops can't sell the rights to these videos to the highest bidder.

Posted at 4:24PM on Feb 26th 2008 by good for him

10. 1. it was a 13 year old BOY they were posing as. And I think its funny. For all we know this may have saved some little kid's life. I dont car ethat he killed himself. One less child molester in the world.

Posted at 4:25PM on Feb 26th 2008 by Jason

11. The lawsuite is B.S. THE HOLE FAMILY IS A WASTE OF SPACE, FREE LOADERS AND TRASH!!!! She needs to take lessons from her brother!!!! I stand behind DATELINE 1000000000%

Posted at 4:25PM on Feb 26th 2008 by lacey

12. So what's the point here, we're suddenly suppose to feel bad for this pediphile that was there to mess around w/ a little boy? because he got caught and was embarrassed then decided to take his own life? Now his family wants to sew over this?????????? HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO what am I missing here? Did dateline give him the gun? Did the police give him the gun? no........... he was a grown man, making the wrong choices, sickening choices got caught and chickened out of facing his penalities................. Sympathy goes out to the family........... but come on!!!!!!!!!

Posted at 4:26PM on Feb 26th 2008 by oh well

13. Sounds like a good reason to throw a GREAT BIG CELEBRATORY PARTY! "Another one bites the dust", yeah!

Posted at 4:26PM on Feb 26th 2008 by StarBryte

14. This show makes actually makes me fell a little sorry for the perps. Actually, I think I'm just torn. I can't decide which I dislike more: the disgusting child molesters or the smug NBS "journalist" Chris Hanson.

Posted at 4:27PM on Feb 26th 2008 by LisaLisa

15. "Apparently unable to face the humiliation of the public spectacle that faced him, Conradt took his own life"

A pervert and a coward. And they made him a District Attorney? He was worthless and deserved the humiliation.
Death was too quick for him. He should have gone to jail and been made someone's bitch!

Posted at 4:28PM on Feb 26th 2008 by Lucy Phoenix

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