‘Making a Murderer’ producers prevail on defamation claims

MILWAUKEE — A federal judge in Wisconsin granted summary judgment to Netflix and the producers of its “Making a Murderer” true crime series, which allegedly portrayed a police sergeant as having framed the prime suspect of a high-profile case to convict him. Since he is a public figure, he is not afforded the defamation protections he seeks, in part because he did not show the producers had malicious intent in making the series despite his “harsh portrayal.”