All Articles
Everything MLRC has published, in any publication, since 2017.
Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer: Mike Grygiel
Greenberg Traurig attorney on his start in the business, representing Kathy Griffin, summer reads, golf, and more.
Pennsylvania Legislators Introduce Anti-Slapp Legislation
Michael BerryHB 1466 builds on UPEPA and the collective experience of states with existing anti-SLAPP laws, while accounting for distinctive features of Pennsylvania legal practice.
D.C. Federal Court Says AI Generated Art Not Copyrightable
Alycia S. TullochAfter the years-long saga surrounding whether a two-dimensional piece of artwork created by Dr. Thaler’s Creativity Machine could be registered as a copyright, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a final order stating that machine generated artwork is not copyrightable.
Colorado Court Grants Anti-SLAPP Motions of Media Defendants Sued for Reporting on Health Company Fallout With State
Steve Zansberg and Lauren RussellOn August 15, a trial judge in Arapahoe County, Colorado became the fourth state jurist to dismiss libel claims against media companies applying Colorado’s anti-SLAPP Act, passed into law in 2019.
FOIA Lawsuit Helps NPR Report On “Barbaric” and “Negligent” Conditions in ICE Detention Facilities
Max Mishkin, Emmy Parsons, and David BodneyThese records were released as the result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in which the court compared the Government’s arguments to “a game of ‘Mad Libs.’”
Court Affirms Fee Award Against Arizona Lawmakers Who Filed Groundless, Bad-Faith Defamation Lawsuit Against Political Rival
Kennison LayPlaintiffs’ pleadings were “riddled with irrelevant allegations” and “irrelevant arguments,” and their appeal was “both groundless and brought in bad faith.”
Court Affirms Dismissal of Holocaust Complicity “Group Libel” Lawsuit
Damon DunnAn Illinois appellate court affirmed dismissal of defamation and false light invasion of privacy claims over a Chicago Sun-Times column that ascribed “felonies under the laws of Illinois and Poland” to the “Plaintiffs and/or their families and Poles in general” when it referred to “widespread collaboration” in the killing of Jews during WWII.
Article Tying Nursing Home Magnate to Human Trafficking, Medicaid Fraud & Elder Abuse Protected As Fair Report, True, and Opinion
Alia SmithJudge Azrack held that the challenged statements – concerning the poor quality of some of Landa’s nursing homes and alleged financial and other improprieties – were fair reports under N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 74, were substantially true, or were non-actionable opinions.
A New Film: Floyd Abrams – Speaking Freely
George FreemanNot only to get pumped up, and more than just to learn some legal history, I urge all members to watch this film on September 22nd. It will renew your faith and dedication to the goals and principles we are striving for. Though the hero of the piece appears to be Floyd, the co-hero really…
New York Times Wins Defamation Suit Over Reporting on Internet Harassment Campaigns
The suit stemmed from a January 2021 story, in which Times reporter Kashmir Hill reported on the phenomenon of “complaint sites”: websites that allow people to hurl anonymous accusations online that then ricochet across the internet through a constellation of interconnected sites.
Sheriff Ordered to Pay Station’s Attorney Fees After Withholding Recordings of Jailhouse Videocalls Which It Already Had Released
Eric P. RobinsonJudge Toal held that the recordings were public records in possession of a government agency, and thus subject to disclosure under FOIA.
A Victory for Transparency in Uvalde
Reid PillifantMore than a year after a gunman killed 19 students and 2 teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a judge has ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to release information about the attack and the law enforcement response.
Maine Governor Vetoes Legislation Requiring News Outlets to Establish Unconstitutional Censorship Process for “Foreign Government-Influenced” Political Communications
Sigmund D. Schutz, Alexandra A. Harriman, and Margeaux E. LavoieNo state has come closer than Maine to imposing on news outlets constitutionally fraught and onerous obligations to police and censor foreign-influenced spending on political advertising.
“Server Test” Is Reaffirmed (For Now) in Hunley v. Instagram
Jim Rosenfeld and Raphael Holoszyc-PimentelThe server test has been the law in the Ninth Circuit since 2007, but in recent years it has come under attack in lower courts in other jurisdictions.
Arizona Law Banning Video Recording of Police Ruled Unconstitutional
Matthew E. KelleyRuling in favor of a coalition of news organizations, a federal judge has struck down an Arizona statute that would have made it a crime to record video of police within eight feet of them after being warned to stop.
Charity’s Defamation Claim Against Canadian Public Broadcaster Can Continue in U.S. Federal Court
Sam LachmanThe Court dismissed the charity’s claims for breach of contract, promissory estoppel, and negligent misrepresentation for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, leaving its defamation claim to proceed to discovery. At issue is
Ohio Appellate Court Upholds Post-Trial Libel Injunction
John C. GreinerAn Ohio court recently demonstrated how a court may enjoin a party from libeling someone, without violating the Constitution.
Gearing Up for MLRC’s Biggest Conference of the Year
George FreemanA look behind the scenes of MLRC's Media Law Conference, October 4-6 at the Lansdowne Resort in Northern Virginia.
Blackwater Founder Erik Prince’s Claims Against The Intercept Dismissed for Lack of Actual Malice
Margaret N. StrouseJudge Preska referenced the actual malice standard under New York’s anti-SLAPP statute but, because actual malice already was required of Prince as a public figure, she did not decide which source of the actual malice standard should govern.
Maine Supreme Court Affirms Trial Win for Newspaper That Reported on Sex Abuse Allegations and Coverup
Cynthia CountsThe Maine Supreme Court affirmed a jury’s verdict in favor of a newspaper company and two journalists accused of defamation for reporting on decades old sex abuse allegations against a former police captain.
