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Central Park Jogger Trial Prosecutors

Source: New York Post Archives / Getty

The dominos continue to fall in the aftermath of the four-part When They See Us documentary.

Elizabeth Lederer — the district attorney who prosecuted the now-exonerated Central Park Five — said on Wednesday that she will leave her job as part-time lecturer at Columbia Law School because of the backlash over the Netflix documentary, which follows the case of five young men of color who were coerced into giving false interviews to the police in 1989.

“I’ve enjoyed my years teaching at CLS, and the opportunity it has given me to interact with the many fine students who elected to take my classes,” Lederer said in a letter to faculty and students.

Though still a prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, she will not attempt to teach again given her portrayal in the Ava DuVernay-directed mini-series, adding, “However, given the nature of the recent publicity generated by the Netflix portrayal of the Central Park case, it is best for me not to renew my teaching application.”

The dean of the school, Gillian Lester,  jumped in to add, “I am deeply committed to fostering a learning environment that furthers this important and ongoing dialogue, one that draws upon the lived experiences of all members of our community and actively confronts the most difficult issues of our time.”

Lederer was played by Vera Farmiga, who had the majority of her scenes with Linda Fairstein (Felicity Huffman) as the two did their best to poke holes in the boys’ stories and discredit them.

It was previously reported that Fairstein has also lost opportunities since the doc became available to stream in early June. She reportedly resigned from a board of directors of a nonprofit, the Board of Trustees at Vassar College, and was dropped by her book publisher.