Thaindian News

By Ranjan Bhaduri
Jan 20, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The New York Supreme Court judge preceding in the Letterman case has decided not to ‘toss the case’, claim sources. The defense attorney had made an effort to get the case dismissed but the judge upheld the indictment. The man accused is producer, Robert Joel Halderman who reportedly asked David Letterman to pay up $2 million in return of a screenplay treatment that was written regarding David Letterman’s affairs with his female colleagues.

Robert Joel Halderman’s attorneys say that the CBS news producer had a legal right to sell the story and thus this did not amount to the legal definition of extortion. Also, when it was claimed that the producer’s right to speech itself was violated, then too the Judge Charles H. Solomon downright rejected it saying that “the prosecutors had met their burden of proof”. The defense attorney even went on to say that “Halderman could argue a claim of right” and that “he had a right to the money he demanded”. However this claim was thrashed by the judge who said, “By Law, that defense is not available to one charged with committing larceny by extortion”. The judge said that the decision whether the case was that of an extortion or that it was just commercial in nature, would have to be decided by the jury itself.

On the 1st of October, the CBS producer had been arrested when he tried to deposit a fake check which was made out by David Letterman’s attorney for $2 million. The whole issue became public when David Letterman revealed the truth on air.