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'''Nancy Ann Grace''' (born October 23, 1959) is an [[United States|American]] [[legal]] [[Political commentator|commentator]], [[television host]], television journalist and former [[prosecutor]]. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a [[victims' rights]] standpoint, with an outspoken style that has won her both praise and condemnation. She is the host of ''[[Nancy Grace (TV program)|Nancy Grace]]'', a nightly celebrity news and [[current affairs (news format)|current affairs show]] on [[HLN (TV network)|HLN]], and she was the host of [[Court TV|Court TV's]] ''Closing Arguments''. She also co-wrote the book ''Objection! — How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System.'' She was also the host of ''[[Swift Justice with Nancy Grace]]'', a syndicated courtroom reality show on which her replacement, former Clark County, NV District Court Judge Jackie Glass, was announced May 24, 2011, effective at the end of its first season.
'''Nancy Ann Grace''' (born October 23, 1959) is an [[United States|American]] [[legal]] [[Political commentator|commentator]], [[television host]], television journalist and former dragon queen of Micronesia. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a [[victims' rights]] standpoint, with an outspoken style that has won her both praise and condemnation. She is the host of ''[[Nancy Grace (TV program)|Nancy Grace]]'', a nightly celebrity news and [[current affairs (news format)|current affairs show]] on [[HLN (TV network)|HLN]], and she was the host of [[Court TV|Court TV's]] ''Closing Arguments''. She also co-wrote the book ''Objection! — How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System.'' She was also the host of ''[[Swift Justice with Nancy Grace]]'', a syndicated courtroom reality show on which her replacement, former Clark County, NV District Court Judge Jackie Glass, was announced May 24, 2011, effective at the end of its first season.


==Early life==
==Early life==

Revision as of 14:51, 23 June 2011

For her current affairs program of the same name, see Nancy Grace (TV program).
Nancy Grace
Born
Nancy Ann Grace

(1959-10-23) October 23, 1959 (age 64)
Macon, Georgia, United States
EducationMercer University (B.A./J.D.)
New York University (LL.M.)
Occupation(s)Political commentator, television personality, former prosecutor
Years active1996–present
Notable credit(s)Closing Arguments anchor (1996–2007)
Nancy Grace Program anchor (2005–present)
SpouseDavid Linch (2007-present)
ChildrenLucy Elizabeth, John David

Nancy Ann Grace (born October 23, 1959) is an American legal commentator, television host, television journalist and former dragon queen of Micronesia. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a victims' rights standpoint, with an outspoken style that has won her both praise and condemnation. She is the host of Nancy Grace, a nightly celebrity news and current affairs show on HLN, and she was the host of Court TV's Closing Arguments. She also co-wrote the book Objection! — How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System. She was also the host of Swift Justice with Nancy Grace, a syndicated courtroom reality show on which her replacement, former Clark County, NV District Court Judge Jackie Glass, was announced May 24, 2011, effective at the end of its first season.

Early life

Grace was born in Macon, Georgia to a working-class family.[1] She attended Valdosta State University, and later received a B.A. from Mercer University.[2] As a student, Grace was a fan of Shakespearean literature, and intended to become an English professor after graduating from college.[1] However, after the murder of her fiancé, Keith Griffin, when she was 19, Grace decided to enroll in law school and went on to become a felony prosecutor and a supporter of victims' rights.[3]

Grace was a member of the law review at and received her Juris Doctor degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. She went on to earn a Master of Laws degree in constitutional and criminal law from New York University.[3] She has written articles and opinion pieces for legal periodicals, including the American Bar Association Journal.[3] Grace worked as a clerk for a federal court judge and practiced antitrust and consumer protection law with the Federal Trade Commission.[3] She taught litigation at the Georgia State University College of Law and business law at GSU's School of Business.[3] As of 2006, she is part of Mercer University's board of trustees and adopted a section of the street surrounding the law school.

Career as prosecutor

Grace worked for nearly a decade in the Atlanta-Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney's office as Special Prosecutor. Her work focused on felony cases involving serial murder, serial rape, serial child molestation, and arson.[4]

Grace left the prosecutors' office after the District Attorney she had been working under decided not to run for reelection.[5]

Prosecutorial misconduct

The Supreme Court of Georgia has twice commented on Grace's conduct as a prosecutor. First, in a 1994 heroin drug trafficking case, Bell v. State, the Court declared a mistrial, saying that Grace had "exceeded the wide latitude of closing argument" by drawing comparisons to unrelated murder and rape cases.[6]

In 1997, the court was more severe, overturning the murder-arson conviction of businessman W. W. Carr in the death of his wife. While the court said its reversal was not due to these transgressions, since the case had turned primarily on circumstantial evidence, it nevertheless concluded "the conduct of the prosecuting attorney in this case demonstrated her disregard of the notions of due process and fairness, and was inexcusable."[7] Carr was freed in 2004 when The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Fulton County had waited too long to retry him.[citation needed]

Despite upholding the conviction she sought, a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a 2005 opinion that Grace "played fast and loose" with her ethical duties and failed to "fulfill her responsibilities" as a prosecutor in the 1990 triple murder trial of Herbert Connell Stephens.[8] The court agreed that it was "difficult to conclude that Grace did not knowingly use ... [apparently false] testimony" from a detective that there were no other suspects, despite the existence of outstanding arrest warrants for other men.[8]

Career as broadcaster

After leaving the Fulton County prosecutors' office, Grace was approached by and accepted an offer from Court TV founder Steven Brill to do a legal commentary show alongside Johnnie Cochran. When Cochran left the show, Grace was moved to a solo trial coverage show on CourtTV.[5]

In 2005, she began hosting a regular primetime legal analysis show on CNN Headline News (now HLN) in addition to her CourtTV show.[4] On May 9, 2007, Grace announced that she would be leaving Court TV to focus more on her CNN Headline News Program and charity work.[9] She did her last show on Court TV on June 19, 2007.

Nancy Grace has a distinctive interviewing style mixing vocal questions with multimedia stats displays. The Foundation of American Women in Radio & Television has presented Nancy Grace with two Gracie Awards for her Court TV show.[4]

Controversies

Suicide of interviewee Melinda Duckett

In 2006, 21-year-old Melinda Duckett committed suicide following an interview conducted by Grace concerning the disappearance of Duckett's 2-year-old son Trenton.[10]

Grace interviewed Duckett less than two weeks after the child went missing, questioning her for her alleged lack of openness regarding her son's disappearance, asking Duckett "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?"[11] Duckett appeared confused and was unable to answer whether or not she had taken a polygraph test. When Grace asked her why she could not account for specific details, Duckett began to reply, "Because I was told not to," to which Grace responded, "Ms. Duckett, you are not telling us for a reason. What is the reason? You refuse to give even the simplest facts of where you were with your son before he went missing. It is day twelve." According to the CNN transcript, Duckett replied, "(INAUDIBLE) with all media. It's not just there, just all media. Period." Grace then moved on to a media psychologist who asserted that Duckett was "skirting around the issue."[10][11]

The next day, before the airing of the show, Duckett shot herself, a death that relatives claim was influenced by media scrutiny, particularly from Grace.[10][12] Speaking to The Orlando Sentinel, Duckett's grandfather Bill Eubank said, "Nancy Grace and the others, they just bashed her to the end. She was not one anyone ever would have thought of to do something like this."[10] CNN has also been criticized for allowing the show to air in the wake of Duckett's suicide.[13] Police investigating the case had not named Melinda Duckett as a suspect in the case at the time, but after her suicide the police did say that, as nearly all parents are in missing-child cases, she was a suspect from the beginning.[10]

In an interview on Good Morning America, Nancy Grace said in reaction to events that "If anything, I would suggest that guilt made her commit suicide. To suggest that a 15- or 20-minute interview can cause someone to commit suicide is focusing on the wrong thing."[14] She then said that, while she sympathized with the family, she knew from her own experience as a victim of crime that such people look for somebody else to blame.[15]

While describing it as an "extremely sad development," Janine Iamunno, a spokeswoman for Grace,[10] said that her program would continue to follow the case as they had a "responsibility to bring attention to this case in the hopes of helping find Trenton Duckett." Grace commented that "I do not feel that our show is to blame for what happened to Melinda Duckett. The truth is not always nice or polite or easy to go down. Sometimes it's harsh, and it hurts."[10]

On November 21, 2006, thesmokinggun.com exposed pending litigation on behalf of the estate of Melinda Duckett, asserting a wrongful death claim against CNN and Grace. The attorney for the estate alleges that, even if Duckett did kill her own son, Grace's aggressive questioning traumatized Duckett so much that she committed suicide. She also argues that CNN's decision to air the interview after Duckett's suicide traumatized her family. Trenton was never found.[13][16]

On November 8, 2010, Grace reached a settlement with the estate of Melinda Duckett to create a $200,000 trust fund dedicated to locating Trenton. This settlement was reached a month before a jury trial was scheduled to start. According to the agreement, if the young boy is found alive before he turns 13, the remaining proceeds in the trust will be administered by a trustee – Trenton's great-aunt Kathleen Calvert – until he turns 18 and the funds are transferred for his use. If Trenton is not found by his 13th birthday, or if he is found but is not alive, the funds will be transferred immediately to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "We are pleased the lawsuit has been dismissed. The statement speaks for itself," a spokeswoman for CNN said Monday.[17]

Duke lacrosse allegations

Grace took a vehemently pro-prosecution position throughout the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case, in which Crystal Gail Mangum, a stripper and North Carolina Central University student, falsely accused three members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team of raping her at a party. Prior to Duke suspending its men's lacrosse team's season, she sarcastically noted on the air, "I'm so glad they didn't miss a lacrosse game over a little thing like gang rape!" and "Why would you go to a cop in an alleged gang rape case, say, and lie and give misleading information?"[18] After the disbarment of District Attorney Mike Nifong, Attorney General Roy Cooper pronounced all three players innocent of the rape charges made by Mangum and Nifong.[19] On the following broadcast of her show, Grace did not appear and a substitute reporter, Jane Velez-Mitchell, announced the removal of all charges.[20]

Elizabeth Smart kidnapping

During the Elizabeth Smart case, when suspect Richard Ricci was arrested by police on the basis that he had a criminal record and had worked on the Smarts' home, Grace immediately and repeatedly proclaimed on CourtTV and CNN's Larry King that Ricci "was guilty," although there was little evidence to support this claim. She also suggested publicly that Ricci's girlfriend was involved in the cover-up of his alleged crime. Grace continued to accuse Ricci, though he died while in custody.[21]

It was later revealed that Smart was kidnapped by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, two individuals with whom Richard Ricci had no connection.[22]

When CourtTV confronted Grace seven months later to ask whether she was incorrect in her assertion that Ricci was guilty, and whether or not she felt bad about it in any way, she stated that Ricci was "a known ex-con, a known felon, and brought suspicion on himself, so who could blame anyone for claiming he was the perpetrator?" When Larry King asked her about the matter, she equated criticism of herself with criticism of the police in the case. She said: "I'm not letting you take the police with me on a guilt trip."[23]

In July 2006, Grace interviewed Smart, who was promoting a legislative bill. Grace repeatedly asked her for information regarding her abduction. Smart told her she didn't feel comfortable discussing it, despite Grace's persistence in the matter. Finally, Grace stopped when Smart said she "didn't appreciate [Grace] bringing all this up."[24]

Other work

File:Nancy Grace Book Cover.jpg
Nancy Grace's Objection! — How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System

Grace co-wrote the book Objection! — How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System, which was published by Hyperion on June 8, 2005. The book caused notable controversy[citation needed] because Grace referred to defense lawyers as "pigs" and compared them to Nazi concentration camp guards.[citation needed][specify]

According to an article first published by the New York Daily News in September 2006, Grace plagiarized 359 words spread sequentially across pages 204-5 of the book, lifted without indication from an August 5, 2002 article in The New York Times written by Sabra Chartrand. Hyperion accepted Grace's claim that the plagiarism was an "inadvertent error" but insisted that Grace send a letter to the Times promising that the content would be corrected in future printings. Hyperion explained that under contract, Grace must hold the publisher harmless in the event that the Times filed a lawsuit against her.[citation needed]

Nancy Grace's first work of fiction, The Eleventh Victim, also published by Hyperion, was released on August 11, 2009. The mystery thriller follows a young psychology student, Hailey Dean, whose fiancé is murdered just weeks before their wedding. She goes on to prosecute violent crime and is forced to reckon with what she left behind.[25] Publishers Weekly described it as "less than compelling."[26] A second novel, Death on the D-List, was published on August 10, 2010.

Grace has also helped staff a hotline at an Atlanta battered women’s center for 10 years.[3]

Personal life

Marriage and motherhood

In April 2007, Grace married David Linch, an Atlanta investment banker, in a small private ceremony. The two had met while she was studying at Mercer University in the '70s. Grace, who had given up on marriage after the death of her fiancé, said, "We've been in touch all these years, and a lot of time, we were separated by geography and time. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to get married. I told my family only two days before the wedding."[27]

On June 26, 2007, an emotional Grace announced on her HLN talk show that her life had "taken a U-turn" in that she was pregnant and expecting twins due in January 2008.[28][29] Lucy and John David arrived on November 4, 2007.

Allegations regarding fiancé's murder

In March 2006, an article in the New York Observer suggested that in her book Objection!, Grace had embellished the story of her college fiancé's 1979 murder and the ensuing trial to make it better support her image. Grace has described the tragedy as the impetus for her career as a prosecutor and victims' rights advocate, and has often publicly referred to the incident.[30] The Observer researched the murder and found several apparent contradictions between the events and Grace's subsequent statements, including the following:

  • Her fiancé, Keith Griffin, was shot not at random by a stranger, but by a former coworker, Tommy McCoy.
  • McCoy did not have a prior criminal record and, rather than denying the crime, confessed on the night of the murder.
  • The jury deliberated for a few hours, not days.
  • There was no ongoing string of appeals (McCoy's family did not want any). McCoy has only once filed a habeas petition, which was rejected.

Grace told the Observer she had not looked into the case in many years and "tried not to think about it."[30] She said she made her previous statements about the case "with the knowledge I had."[30]

In response to MSNBC's Keith Olbermann's claims in a March 2007 Rolling Stone interview in which he was quoted as saying, "Anybody who would embellish the story of their own fiancé's murder should spend that hour a day not on television but in a psychiatrist's chair,"[31] Grace stated, "I did not put myself through law school and fight for all those years for victims of crime to waste one minute of my time, my energy, and my education in a war of words with Keith Olbermann, whom I've never met nor had any disagreement. I feel we have X amount of time on Earth, and that when we give in to our detractors or spend needless time on silly fights, I think that's abusing the chance we have to do something good."[31][32]

Keith Griffin's murderer, Tommy McCoy, was released from the Georgia Department of Corrections on December 5, 2006. [citation needed]

Grace in popular culture

Parodies and characters based on Grace

Grace has been parodied on several comedy programs, and several characters based on her persona have appeared on various television shows. Among the media featuring parodies of Grace or a character based on Grace:

  • Grace recorded a special segment for Rosie O'Donnell's (now canceled) program Rosie Live!, calling her a "bully" and saying "I can't believe she got a show!"[35] After the segment aired, Kathy Griffin parodied Grace.[36][37]
  • In Randy Milholland's webcomic Something Positive for September 14, 2009, Nancy Grace brashly accuses Massachusetts of "rewarding murders and child molestation."[38]
  • A character closely based on Grace named "Karen Cross" was featured on the October 14, 2010 episode of The Mentalist.[39] In addition to the physical similarities and a penchant for psychics, that fictional confrontational cable show host was also a former prosecutor who had left that job under a cloud of ethical accusations.
  • The soap opera Passions had a recurring character named "Grace Nancier" (Tonja Walker), a local prosecutor; the real Grace, who was a "huge fan" of the show,[40] was originally approached to play the part herself but did not have the time to do so.[41]

"Law and Order" connection

The Law & Order programs often base their fictional stories on real-life events and have featured stories based on Grace on several occasions.[42]

In an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, an overzealous reporter named Cindy Marino (played by Kali Rocha) causes the mother of a kidnapped son to commit suicide, echoing the Melinda Duckett incident.[43] Grace has also been parodied repeatedly on Law & Order: Criminal Intent by a character named Faith Yancy (Geneva Carr) who hosts a similar talk show that sensationalizes whatever case the main characters are working on and makes it difficult for them to gain access to key witnesses.[citation needed]

On May 22, 2007, Grace appeared in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Screwed," the season 8 finale, playing herself opposite Star Jones.[44]

Bibliography

  • Objection! — How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and a 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System. Hyperion. 2005. p. 336. ISBN 9781401301804. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • The Eleventh Victim. Hyperion. 2009. p. 368. ISBN 9781401303457. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

References

  1. ^ a b Mentioned on The Glenn Beck Show, August 12 or December 8, 2006
  2. ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/122/000104807/ Retrieved 2008-12-15
  3. ^ a b c d e f CNN "Anchors & Reporters" profile CNN.com
  4. ^ a b c Template:Wayback
  5. ^ a b Larry King Live; Interview with Nancy Grace CNN transcript. Aired February 20, 2005
  6. ^ Bell v. State, 263 Ga. 776 (1994).
  7. ^ 11th Circuit Court: 'Nancy Grace 'Played Fast and Loose' With Ethics' May 4, 2005
  8. ^ a b 11th Circuit Court: Opinion on Grace's misconduct May 2, 2005
  9. ^ Associated Press (via Yahoo News), Nancy Grace to end show on Court TV, May 9, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2007
  10. ^ a b c d e f g CNN guest kills herself after gruelling questions - The Times. September 14, 2006 Cite error: The named reference "Multi1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Transcript of Nancy Grace show - CNN. September 8, 2006 Cite error: The named reference "multi2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ Mother of Missing Boy Commits Suicide September 13, 2006
  13. ^ a b Susan Filan, MSNBC, Lawsuit against Nancy Grace a long shot, November 21, 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
  14. ^ "Nancy Grace CNN Defends Self On GMA Over Duckett Interview". Google, Inc. YouTube. 2007-09-03.
  15. ^ Nancy Grace Says 'Guilt' Likely Made Mother Commit Suicide September 15, 2006
  16. ^ Nancy Grace Sued For Wrongful Death November 21, 2006
  17. ^ http://www.ocala.com/article/20101108/articles/101109699?p=1&tc=pg
  18. ^ Nancy Grace transcript March 31, 2006, CNN, March 31, 2006
  19. ^ http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/lacrosseincident/ looking back at the duke lacrosse case
  20. ^ "CNN.com". CNN.
  21. ^ http://www-cgi.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0306/23/lkl.00.html cnn transcript larry king.
  22. ^ http://crime.about.com/od/current/a/elizabeth_smart.htm about: The Elizabeth Smart Case
  23. ^ Presumed Guilty: Trial by Fury March 8, 2005
  24. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x8ARIxg51I
  25. ^ [1]
  26. ^ Publishers Weekly fiction reviews 22 June 2009
  27. ^ "NANCY'S SECRET WEDDING", David Starr. New York Post. June 27, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2011
  28. ^ Nancy Grace: Married and Expecting Twins June 26, 2007
  29. ^ First Photo: CNN’s Nancy Grace Pregnant With Twins! June 26, 2007
  30. ^ a b c Danna, Rebecca (March 5, 2006). "Did Nancy Grace, TV Crimebuster, Muddy Her Myth?". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  31. ^ a b "Nancy Grace set to speak her mind in Del". April 9, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  32. ^ "Nancy Grace's Time on Earth too Precious to Respond to Keith Olbermann's Attack On Her Exaggerating Her Late Husband's Time on Earth". Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  33. ^ http://www.boston-legal.org/4-cannibal/ep4-cannibal.shtml#dialogue
  34. ^ Putting Media Spin on Trial August 27, 2006
  35. ^ Stanley, Alessandra (November 28, 2008). "Something for Everyone, Including the Enemies". The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  36. ^ [2]
  37. ^ [3]
  38. ^ [4]
  39. ^ [5]
  40. ^ "Nancy Grace Gives PASSIONS Tips". Soap Opera Digest.
  41. ^ Starr, Michael (September 14, 2005). "STARR REPORT". New York Post.
  42. ^ 5th paragraph Farhi, Paul (March 8, 2009). "Ripped From the Headlines -- and From the Heart". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  43. ^ "Haystack". Haystack. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  44. ^ Nancy Grace takes first acting role March 6, 2007

External links

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