Netflix and Ava DuVernay cite the First Amendment in response to When They See Us interrogation technique lawsuit

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John E. Reid and Associates, which created the popular Reid Technique for police interrogations, sued Netflix and DuVernay last month, claiming a line in When They See Us defamed the company. Netflix and DuVernay have responded to the lawsuit, saying they have a First Amendment right to criticize the interrogation technique. “The fact is, this lawsuit seeks to punish, and ultimately enjoin, one side of the debate over a matter of vital public concern— whether a controversial interrogation technique used by police is susceptible to abuse and can result in wrongful convictions,” Netflix said in a filing in U.S. District Court in Chicago. “The dialogue at issue is fully protected speech under the First Amendment and is not actionable as a matter of law. Permitting this case to go forward would not only be contrary to law, it would have a profoundly chilling effect on core First Amendment speech.”