Law & Order ‘Fiction’ is Eerily Like Actual Cases, Crime Victims Say

A year after a judge denied a motion to dismiss, an unusual "libel in fiction" case filed against the popular Law & Order television show by a New York lawyer is still awaiting trial.

Revolving around a murder and a judicial bribery scandal, the 2003 episode Floater libeled him because a lead character in the fictional episode was so similar to his real-life self, argued attorney Ravi Batra. A New York judge overseeing the case as it proceeds toward trial agreed that he has a case.

There is “a reasonable likelihood that the ordinary viewer, unacquainted with Batra personally, could understand [television character Ravi] Patel’s corruption to be the truth about Batra,” Justice Marilyn Shafer wrote in denying the motion to dismiss, reports the Washington Post.

Batra's not the only person unhappy over a seemingly close similarity between the show episodes, which are expressly identified as fiction, and unhappy reality, the newspaper recounts, although he seems to be the only one who's sued Law & Order.

"The fact is, it’s not all fiction," says Rob Hunter, a New York City Web designer whose family experienced two murders in their home. “How could they write something like that without talking to any of us?" he asks.

Earlier coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "N.Y. Lawyer: Fictional Persona Libels Me"