Libel cases

After his exoneration, Jewell filed lawsuits against the media outlets which he
said had libeled him, primarily NBC News and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and
insisted on a formal apology from them. L. Lin Wood was the lead attorney in all of
Jewell's libel cases.[5][12][13][14]

In 2006, Jewell said the lawsuits were not about money, and that the vast majority
of the settlements went to lawyers or taxes. He said the lawsuits were about
clearing his name.[5]

Richard Jewell v. Piedmont College

Jewell filed suit against his former employer Piedmont College, Piedmont College
President Raymond Cleere and college spokesman Scott Rawles.[13] Jewell's attorneys
contended that Cleere called the FBI and spoke to the Atlanta newspapers, providing
them with false information on Jewell and his employment there as a security guard.
Jewell's lawsuit accused Cleere of describing Jewell as a "badge-wearing zealot"
who "would write epic police reports for minor infractions."[12]

Piedmont College settled for an undisclosed amount.[15]

Richard Jewell v. NBC

Jewell sued NBC News for this statement, made by Tom Brokaw: "The speculation is
that the FBI is close to making the case. They probably have enough to arrest him
right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to
convict him as well. There are still some holes in this case".[16] Even though NBC
stood by its story, the network agreed to pay Jewell $500,000.[13]

Richard Jewell v. New York Post

On July 23, 1997, Jewell sued the New York Post for $15 million in damages,
contending that the paper portrayed him in articles, photographs and an editorial
cartoon as an "aberrant" person with a "bizarre employment history" who was
probably guilty of the bombing.[17] He eventually settled with the newspaper for an
undisclosed amount.[18]

Richard Jewell v. Cox Enterprises (d.b.a. Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Jewell also sued the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. According to Jewell,
the paper's headline, "FBI suspects 'hero' guard may have planted bomb", "pretty
much started the whirlwind".[14] In one article, the Atlanta Journal compared
Richard Jewell's case to that of serial killer Wayne Williams.[16][19]

The newspaper was the only defendant that did not settle with Jewell. The lawsuit
remained pending for several years, after having been considered at one time by the
Supreme Court of Georgia, and had become an important part of case law regarding
whether journalists could be forced to reveal their sources. Jewell's estate
continued to press the case even after Jewell's death but in July 2011 all of its
claims were ultimately rejected by the Georgia Court of Appeals. The Court
concluded that "because the articles in their entirety were substantially true at
the time they were published—even though the investigators' suspicions were
ultimately deemed unfounded—they cannot form the basis of a defamation action."[20]