Jake Wunsch
Michigan lawyer on notable cases, the future of AI, karaoke picks, and more.
Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer
Michigan lawyer on notable cases, the future of AI, karaoke picks, and more.
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.