Patricia Cornwell Wins Her Case

Posted on June 9, 2007

Bestselling author Patricia Cornwell has won her libel case against another author. Leslie R. Sachs accused Cornwell of plagiarism, bribery, conspiracy to murder him and a number of other things, in various postings all over the Internet. Cornwell sued to make him stop.

Judge Norman K. Moon ordered Leslie R. Sachs to cease spreading 45 specific lies about Cornwell as he issued a permanent injunction. The statements were "calculated to expose plaintiff to public contempt or ridicule," said Moon.

Cornwell has tried to ignore Sachs, but sued him for libel when the Internet attacks accelerated. "I'm trying to keep a cap on my anger," Cornwell told the Boston Globe, "because anger makes you sick, and I don't let myself get hateful because that just poisons you. But when a schoolyard bully punches me in the nose, I'm going to have to hit back."

Sachs first accused Cornwell of plagiarism back in 2000 when he claimed his self-published book The Virginia Ghost Murders was a basis for Cornwells The Last Precinct. A libel suit ensued and the judge ordered Sachs to remove a sticker that proclaimed "the must-read gothic mystery that preceded Patricia Cornwell's newest best seller." Sachs was also ordered to stop using Cornwell's name in promoting his book. Sachs, who claims he is a "political refugee," purportedly moved to Europe in 2004 to escape Cornwell's legal actions.

This guy swore that Patricia Cornwell was plotting to kill him, which is really disturbing. This is the downside of fame. Still, those royalty checks she gets must be some kind of comfort in the face of all the crazy out there.

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