In 2011, Sherrod filed suit against Breitbart and co-defendant Larry O'Connor for defamation. In 2015, following lengthy pretrial proceedings, and efforts by Breitbart to have the suit dismissed which were rejected, the parties settled the suit on undisclosed terms.
Mrs. Mary "Mag" Woodard Sherrod, age 70 of Wilson, North Carolina transitioned from her labor to reward on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. A celebration of her life and legacy will be held at 1pm on Sunday, May 22, 2022 at L.N. Forbes Original Free Will Baptist Tabernacle, 1800 Bishop L.N. Forbes Street, Wilson, North Carolina.
^ "Sherrod's firing was 'phony controversy,' Obama tells 'The View ' ". Associated Press. July 29, 2010. Archived from the original on August 1, 2010.
The Obama administration apologized to Sherrod, and offered her a full-time, high-level internal advocacy position with the USDA, which she ultimately declined. In 2011, Sherrod filed suit against Breitbart and co-defendant Larry O'Connor for defamation.
The extended unedited video of her speech released by the NAACP showed that in her full speech, Sherrod emphasized what was only touched on in the excerpt: she said that she learned from the incident that poverty, not race, was the key factor in rural development. She said she ultimately worked hard to save the farmer's land.
The NAACP and White House officials then apologized for their earlier criticisms, and United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack apologized for the firing and offered Sherrod a new position. Extensive media coverage of the excerpted videos, various parties' comments, and later corrections after the full story was discovered, ...
On July 19, 2010, Shirley Sherrod was fired from her appointed position as Georgia State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture. Her firing was an administration reaction to media reports on video excerpts from her address to an event of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in March 2010 and commentary posted by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart on his website. Based on these excerpts, the NAACP condemned Sherrod's remarks as racist and US government officials called on the official to resign. However, review of her full speech showed that the excerpts had been selectively edited, and that her remarks – understood in context – were about the importance of overcoming personal prejudices. The NAACP and White House officials then apologized for their earlier criticisms, and United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack apologized for the firing and offered Sherrod a new position.
Sherrod said that Cook told her White House officials wanted her to quit immediately because the controversy was "going to be on Glenn Beck tonight", which was disputed by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
(On July 20 CNN received a telephone call from the farmer's wife and learned his name was Roger Spooner.) Sherrod said that his land was being sold, and "had in fact already been rented out from under him." At first, she felt that he had a superior attitude toward her, causing her to recall harsh aspects of her life in the South, including the murder of her father; Sherrod went on to say that she had not let that get in the way and did not discriminate against him. They became very good friends as a result of her help. She admitted thinking at the time that white people had "all the advantages" but learned that poverty affected both races.
When Shirley Sherrod addressed the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund on August 21, 2010, she said she had been aware of the videos on July 14, 2010, five days before they were posted on Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com website.
She said she welcomed the review and accepted the apology. On July 21, Vilsack of USDA apologized personally and publicly to Sherrod for forcing her resignation based on an "out-of-context video".
John represented the man’s wife and used experts who re-created the scene and showed that the driver could have pulled the trailer off the roadway, debunking a defense argument. The result was another seven-figure settlement. “It’s being David against Goliath, trying cases against these large corporations,” John says.
During this time, his old university friend Ken Bernard was finishing his service as a military lawyer for the U.S. Marines in California. He had a law degree from the University of Georgia and was preparing to begin his career as a civilian attorney.