Lisa Callif Appears on NBC Washington to Discuss Juliana Peres Magalhães’s True Crime Streaming Deal

Lisa Callif provided legal analysis on an NBC Washington segment exploring a controversial $10,000 streaming deal allegedly offered to Juliana Peres Magalhães, a Northern Virginia au pair convicted for manslaughter alongside employer and paramour Brendan Banfield, in connection with the murders of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan.

As Hollywood’s interest in true crime stories continues to rise, many wonder whether Peres Magalhães will ultimately be able to profit from the project. Virginia’s ‘Son of Sam’ law is meant to prohibit criminals from profiting off their crimes in movie deals, typically allocating the funds to the victims’ families. However, Peres Magalhães may be able to argue that her deal would be protected under the First Amendment right to free speech, which courts have upheld in similar cases.

This deal comes as the true crime genre continues to rise in popularity. Lise shares with NBC Washington, “These stories have become so valuable, and people really want them.” She continues to highlight, “If this would have been 10 years ago, I would have said, ‘There’s zero chance she’s getting paid. There’s zero chance she’s getting any approval.’ But now the landscape has changed.”

Lisa reveals that in addition to potentially making a profit, Peres Magalhães may also gain some control over the project. She tells NBC Washington, “Usually a compromise will be ‘You have an opportunity to review the cuts and maybe sometimes there’s an approval for factual accuracy. Like, if we got something really wrong here, we’ll correct it.” From her past experience working on true crime projects, including “Making a Murderer” and “Burden of Proof,” Lisa concludes by noting that, given these terms and the high monetary offer, this deal might be worth Peres Magalhães’s consideration.

To view the NBC Washington segment and read the full article, click here.