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Government Contractors Must Respond to Public Record Requests, Georgia Supreme Court Rules

On August 13, 2024, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously reaffirmed the public’s right under Georgia law to demand records from state and local agencies’ private contractors.

Minnesota Court of Appeals Enjoins Trial Court from Enforcing Prior Restraint Orders Against Broadcast Station

The appellate court’s order enjoined the trial court judge from enforcing a pair of orders that prohibited a local television station from reporting on a document it legally obtained from the online court docket and that went so far as to require the document’s destruction.

Court SLAPPs County’s Suit to Restrain Publication of Text Messages

In a significant victory for press freedom and a reaffirmation of First Amendment protections, a Florida court recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by Escambia County seeking to compel the return of text messages from County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh’s personal phone.

9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Claimed Censorship Case Against Facebook and Fact-Checking Organizations Brought by RFK, Jr. Group

The Court held the district court properly dismissed a case filed by Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., that advocates against vaccines, finding that it failed to a state a claim that fact-checks, and other restrictions, regarding its ability to post and fundraise on Facebook violated the First Amendment…

George Santos Loses Cameo Copyright Case

Santos sued after the show Jimmy Kimmel Live! used short videos of Santos saying absurd things in exchange for money on the site Cameo—videos that Kimmel allegedly tricked Santos into making. The defendants moved to dismiss Santos’ complaint on the grounds that they made a fair use of Santos’ videos.

Discovery Trumps Statute of Limitations in Libel Suits

The Ohio Supreme Court recently decided that a libel plaintiff could bring a lawsuit well beyond the expiration of the one-year statute of limitations if the plaintiff didn’t know about the libel until after the statute had run.

Strange Facts, But Wire Service Defense Wins the Day in Florida

While the facts of the case are almost one-in-a-million, the legal issues – involving libel by embedding allegedly defamatory tweets written by others – is something we are dealing with more and more frequently.

Journalist Prevails on Fair-Report Privilege Defense After Unsealing Critical Court Records

A series of news articles fairly and accurately reported on criminal proceedings, even if they deployed “some literary license” in reporting that a disbarred California lawyer was “linked to [a] black eye,” a district court judge ruled in August.

Maine Libel Decision Favoring Media Organizations Affirmed

The First Circuit affirmed the summary judgment decision of the District of Maine that dismissed defamation claims filed by a former Veterans Administration podiatrist against four media organizations and four reporters.

Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack

MLRC Executive Director on how flag burning could influence the presidential election; and ponders just what makes London, site of the upcoming MLRC Conference, such an unusually pleasurable city.

Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer

Ballard Spahr partner on the Hulk Hogan trial, lawyering in the tropics, college ball, the best food in Philly and more.

Analyst Report and New York Times Article About Crypto Crash Not Defamatory

Having failed to show that Arkham’s report was published with actual malice, the court readily found that Dfinity also failed to establish that The Times’s summary of those same allegations was published with actual malice.

First Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity in First Amendment Retaliation Case

The decision in Berge v. Sch. Comm. of Gloucester, (1st Cir. July 15, 2024), underscores the robustness of free speech protections and marks a rare application of an exception to qualified immunity where the public official’s acts were obviously unconstitutional.

“Vanderpump Rules” Revenge Porn Lawsuit May Proceed, Judge Rules

Judge Crowley reasoned that Madix did not have her boyfriend’s consent to access the contents of his phone.

Docuseries Not Defamatory as a Matter of Law

A Florida state court recently held that a docuseries titled Paul T. Goldman did not defame the woman on whom one of the main characters was based, holding that the series was not capable of defamatory meaning and was not “of and concerning” the plaintiff.

Pennsylvania Enacts Anti-SLAPP Statute

The new law is the culmination of more than a decade of lobbying by free-speech advocates from across the political spectrum.

Copyright Law Used to Deny Access to Covenant School Shooter’s Manifesto

Beware the Attacks on the First Amendment by a Trump Presidency

The MLRC stands ready to help in whatever way it can.

Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer

Freedom Forum First Amendment specialist on his start in the business, conversations with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, why he avoids the term "weaponizing the First Amendment," and more.

A View from the Northern Ireland Bench

I am delighted to be able to provide a perspective from the Northern Ireland Bench on freedom of expression, the right to privacy and the protection of reputation.