Schwarzenegger: Good news

Los Angeles, July 4 (AP): A judge dismissed a libel lawsuit filed against Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger by a woman who accused him of groping her. She said the campaign falsely labelled her a convicted criminal.

Rhonda miller, 53, charged that Schwarzenegger and his campaign intentionally defamed her after she held a news conference the day before last year’s recall election and claimed the actor had lifted her shirt and assaulted her on a movie set.

Hours after her news conference, a Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman sent an e-mail to reporters directing them to a court website to search for records of a Rhonda Miller whose history included prostitution, drug crimes and disorderly conduct. She turned out to be a different Rhonda Miller.

Miller, a stuntwoman, has no arrests or convictions for such crimes, her attorneys said. They needed to furnish “clear and convincing evidence” that Schwarzenegger knew Miller had no criminal history when the campaign sent the e-mail. That higher standard of proof wasn’t met, the judge ruled. Schwarzenegger denied even knowing the e-mail was written.