Leanna Harris to meet with top defamation attorney

Leanna Harris, right, wife of Justin Ross Harris, the father of a toddler who died after police say he was left in a hot car for about seven hours, arrives for her husband's bond hearing in Cobb County Magistrate Court, Thursday, July 3, 2014, in Marietta, Ga. Harris who police say intentionally killed his toddler son by leaving the boy inside a hot SUV was exchanging nude photos with women the day his son died and had looked at websites that advocated against having children, a detective testified Thursday. At that same hearing, a judge refused to grant bond for Harris, meaning he will remain in jail. (AP Photo/Marietta Daily Journal, Kelly J. Huff, Pool)

Credit: Kelly J. Huff

Credit: Kelly J. Huff

Leanna Harris, right, wife of Justin Ross Harris, the father of a toddler who died after police say he was left in a hot car for about seven hours, arrives for her husband's bond hearing in Cobb County Magistrate Court, Thursday, July 3, 2014, in Marietta, Ga. Harris who police say intentionally killed his toddler son by leaving the boy inside a hot SUV was exchanging nude photos with women the day his son died and had looked at websites that advocated against having children, a detective testified Thursday. At that same hearing, a judge refused to grant bond for Harris, meaning he will remain in jail. (AP Photo/Marietta Daily Journal, Kelly J. Huff, Pool)

Earlier this week, Leanna Harris’ attorney compared her to Richard Jewell, the security guard wrongly implicated in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.

Now Harris — whose son died June 18 after being locked in a hot car for seven hours — wants to meet with Jewell’s former lawyer, Lin Wood.

“I have been asked by Lawrence Zimmerman to meet with him and Ms. Harris,” Wood confirmed via email.

Leanna Harris has not been charged with any crime. Her husband, Justin Ross Harris, told police he forgot 22-month-old Cooper was in his SUV when he went to work that day. Police have charged him with felony murder and second degree cruelty to children.

Cobb Police Det. Phil Stoddard testified at Harris’ recent probable cause hearing that his wife showed no outward emotion when told her son was dead.

In a statement released earlier this week, her attorney, Lawrence Zimmerman, complained the media has “fostered a poisonous atmosphere in which Leanna’s every word, action and emotion – or failure to cry in front of a crowd — is scrutinized for some supposed hidden meaning.”

Wood became well known by representing Jewell, suspected by law enforcement of being involved in the 1996 bombing, which led to two deaths. Jewell, who is now deceased, sued The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other news media for reporting that he had become a suspect in the investigation.

The libel suit against the AJC was dismissed by the trial court. The Court of Appeals of Georgia upheld the trial court’s ruling that the newspaper reported accurately.

Wood has represented a number of other high-profile clients, including the parents of JonBenet Ramsey, former Congressman Gary Condit and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.