tool name

Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009

Attorney sues over comments posted on Kentucky.com

The former attorney for accused killer Steve Nunn has filed a lawsuit against unnamed defendants who posted comments about her on Kentucky.com, a Web site operated by the Lexington Herald-Leader.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Fayette Circuit Court, Lexington attorney Astrida Lemkins contends someone wrote false, defamatory comments about her in response to a Sept. 18 article about Nunn.

Lemkins subpoenaed the Herald-Leader to produce the e-mail addresses of any individual who used the screen name "supercalifragilistic" to make comments about Lemkins.

"I'm just trying to find out who wrote those defamatory comments," Lemkins said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I'm trying to find out who it is so I can pursue further action."

Herald-Leader editor Peter Baniak said the comments in question have been removed from the site, and the user name has been blocked from Kentucky.com for violating the Web site's terms of service.

"At this time, we are attempting to contact the commenter to see if he or she wishes to object to the subpoena and assert his or her First Amendment right to anonymous speech," Baniak said in a statement Wednesday.

In her lawsuit, Lemkins is seeking damages of an unspecified amount, including those incurred for her pain and suffering.

Nunn, 57, was indicted Tuesday by a Fayette grand jury on charges of murder and violation of a domestic violence order in the Sept. 11 death of Amanda Ross, 29, who was shot in the early morning outside her downtown Lexington home.

Police found Nunn a few hours later in a Hart County cemetery with slit wrists. He has pleaded not guilty in Fayette District Court and will be arraigned Nov. 19 in Fayette Circuit Court.

Lemkins was Nunn's attorney until late October, when Nunn's family hired London attorney Warren Scoville.