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in this issue
10 Questions to a Media Lawyer: Cameron Stracher
Cameron Stracher is a solo practitioner in New York City. Previously, he was General Counsel of American Media, publisher of Us Weekly, In Touch, Life & Style, Star, OK!, and the National Enquirer. 1. How’d you get into media law? What was your first job? My very first job was at Covington & Burling in…
Colorado Opens Police Internal Affairs Files to the Public – Can Two States Spawn a National Trend?
A Periodic Report from MLRC’s State Legislative Committee By Steven Zansberg On April 19, Colorado’s Governor Jared Polis signed into law House Bill 19-1119, making Colorado the second state in as many years to open to the public completed internal affairs investigation (IA) files of police and sheriff’s offices. The new law, which took effect…
TOPICS : Access / FOIA
Minnesota Court Rules Graphic Videos Shown to Jury Cannot Be Shielded from Public View
By Christopher Proczko Despite the judge’s natural inclination to protect victim and juror privacy, a Minnesota court hearing a high profile murder case concluded that any evidence shown to the jury must also be shown to the members of the press and public attending the trial. State v. Noor. In the same order, the court…
TOPICS : Access / FOIA
Fifth Circuit Denies Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Motion to Seal Courtroom in BP Oil Spill Case
By Pete Thomas and Tom Leatherbury On March 29, 2019, the Fifth Circuit refused to prohibit public access to oral arguments in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ (“the Bucs”) bid to recover “millions of dollars” in damages relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. BP Exploration & Production, Inc. v. Claimant ID 100246928, No. 18-30375, 2019…
TOPICS : Access / FOIA
Through the Looking Glass: Texas’s Anti-SLAPP Law Held Applicable to Attorney Disciplinary Proceeding
By Devin L. Kerns “When I use a word … it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” Comm’n for Lawyer Discipline v. Rosales, No. 03-18-00147-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 2632, at *29 (Tex. App.—Austin Apr. 3, 2019, no pet. h.) (Kelly, J., concurring) (quoting Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass 205…
TOPICS : Anti-SLAPP
Powerful Lobby Groups Take Aim at the Texas Anti-SLAPP Statute
By Laura Prather As Tennessee passes SB 1097 (its anti-SLAPP statute), the other state that begins with T (Texas) seeks to overhaul its anti-SLAPP law. Even before the session started, the writing was on the wall – it was going to be a fight to preserve the Texas Citizens Participation Act (“TCPA”). Virtually every article…
TOPICS : Anti-SLAPP
California Appeals Court Departs from Predominate Standard of Review for Libel by Implication Claims
By Nina D. Boyajian, Kelly L. McNamee and Jena A. MacCabe Last month, on somewhat unusual grounds, a California state appeals court granted an otherwise paradigmatic anti-SLAPP motion to strike a complaint asserting libel by implication. Sonoma Media Investments, LLC v. Superior Court, Nos. A151968, A152008, A152320 (Cal. App. 2019). Rather than apply fully what is now considered to…
TOPICS : Defamatory Meaning
Fair Report Privilege Bars Libel Suit Against Jeanine Pirro
By Dori Ann Hanswirth, Theresa House, and Jesse Feitel Judge Jeanine Pirro’s report and commentary about controversial legal proceedings was absolutely protected under New York law, according to a recent New York state court decision. Mckesson v. Pirro (N.Y. Sup. March 25, 2019). Justice Robert D. Kalish dismissed the defamation complaint of prominent social activist…
TOPICS : Fair Report & Other Privileges
Hot Topics Roundtable: Internet Regulation and Free Speech
May’s hot topic is the past and future of speech regulation online: the current state of play, the role of government and content providers, and how the First Amendment offers guidance (or lack thereof) in addressing these issues. Our panelists: Eric Goldman, well-known blogger and professor at Santa Clara University School of Law; Joshua Koltun,…
The Second Circuit Reaffirms Section 230’s Broad Immunity
Products Liability, Negligence, and Emotional Distress Claims Barred by Statute By Daniel P. Waxman and Courtney J. Peterson On March 27, 2019, the Second Circuit issued its decision in the highly publicized and monitored case, Herrick v. Grindr LLC, 2019 WL 1384092. The Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Herrick’s products liability, negligence, intentional…
TOPICS : Fault, Section 230
Fighting Copyright Pirates Through Preregistration
By David Halberstadter On March 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC. The high court concluded that it is not sufficient for a copyright claimant merely to have applied for registration in order to satisfy the “registration” requirement of 17 U.S.C. § 411(a);…
TOPICS : Copyright
From the Executive Director’s Desk: Letter to a Newer Media Lawyer
By George Freeman As astute readers of the LawLetter hopefully have recognized, we have added a number of new features to our monthly offerings. Just as weekly magazines no longer can just give news summaries of last week’s events, we thought we needed some new angles over and apart from our compendium of litigation developments,…
MediaLawLetter April 2019
Download Publication MLRC From the Executive Director’s Desk: Letter to a Newer Media Lawyer 10 Questions for a Media Lawyer: Cameron Stracher INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Fighting Copyright Pirates Through PreregistrationWhat is “Preregistration” and How Does It Work? INTERNET Second Circuit Reaffirms Section 230’s Broad ImmunityProducts Liability, Negligence, and Emotional Distress Claims Barred by StatuteHerrick v. Grindr…