US district Judge Kevin Castel said Fairstein had alleged defamation with regard to five scenes, including that she withheld evidence, coerced confessions, and directed a racially discriminatory police roundup of young men in Harlem.
“The average viewer could conclude that these scenes have a basis in fact and do not merely reflect the creators’ opinions about controversial historical events,” the judge wrote.
Castel said Fairstein could also pursue defamation claims against the series’ director, Ava DuVernay, and against Attica Locke, a writer and producer, as well as civil conspiracy claims.
“We’ll continue to vigorously defend ‘When They See Us’ and the incredible team behind the series, and we’re confident we’ll prevail against Ms Fairstein’s few remaining claims,” Netflix said.
Fairstein’s lawyer Andrew Miltenberg said he was “exceptionally pleased” with the decision, and that the four-part series falsely depicted his client as “engaging in coercive and discriminatory conduct in order to build a case against innocent young men of colour”.
Fairstein was running the sex-crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in April 1989 when a 28-year-old white female jogger, later identified as Trisha Meili, was beaten and raped in Central Park.
Five male Black or Hispanic teenagers were convicted and spent five to 13 years in prison before being exonerated in 2002 when another man confessed to the crime.
They reached a US$41 million civil settlement in 2014 with New York City, which did not admit wrongdoing.
The case has long been a focal point of discussion about crime and racism. After the series’ premiere, the hashtag #CancelLindaFairstein called for a boycott of Fairstein, by then a bestselling crime novelist.
Fairstein said she was dropped by her publisher and forced to resign from boards of her alma mater Vassar College and three non-profit organisations, including two that support victims of sexual violence.
The defendants had called Fairstein’s account “revisionist history” and said their free speech rights allowed them to present their viewpoint.