In Flex We Trust � New York Demands Documentary Footage On “Central Park Five” Case

9.10.12

In Flex We Trust � New York Demands Documentary Footage On “Central Park Five” Case: The demand is part of the city’s attempt to defend itself against multi-million dollar federal lawsuits filed by some of the “The Central Park Five,” as the exonerated men had come to be known.
Lawyers for New York City filed a subpoena demanding Burns and his production company, Florentine Films, give them the unpublished interviews and unreleased footage not used in the documentary, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
“The plaintiffs’ interviews go to the heart of the case and cannot be obtained elsewhere,” said�Celeste Koeleveld, a city attorney.
But Burns, along with his daughter, Sarah Burns, and her husband David McMahon, who co-wrote and produced the film, say they plan to fight.
“I’m sorry to say we saw this coming,” said Burns. “New York State shield laws are very specific. We are journalists, and that’s what this is.”