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We provide you with essential tools to advance First Amendment and media rights, and a supportive community in which to discuss emerging legal issues and the future of communication.
By Leita Walker The Legislative Affairs Committee is currently tracking congressional and regulatory activity related to privacy and data security, drones, FOIA, and the so-called Consumer Review Freedom Act. The following updates were provided at the committee’s last bi-monthly meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. central on April 14. For call-in details,…
By Charles D. Tobin and Christine N. Walz This month, the federal agencies working on the integration of unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), commonly referred to as drones, have taken important steps toward resolving key issues slowing the take-off of daily UAS journalism. A coalition of nearly two dozen news organizations has played a key role…
By Mickey H. Osterreicher Just when citizens and journalists thought it was safe to photograph and record police performing their official duties in public, a federal court judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled otherwise. In Fields v. City of Philadelphia, U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Kearny (who received his judicial commission in…
By Judy Endejan Even the might of a moneyed, repressive government on another continent could not overcome Washington State’s Shield Law. On February 22, 2016, the Washington Court of Appeals ruled that the Washington Shield Law protects against the disclosure of information about the domain name registrants for a website used by a publication critical…
By Jonathan McCully On 2 February 2016, the Fourth Section of European Court of Human Rights handed down its judgment on intermediary liability in Magyar Tartalomszolgáltatók Egyesülete and Index.hu Zrt v. Hungary (Application No. 22947/13)([2016] ECHR 135). The judgment attempts to clarify the Grand Chamber’s findings in Delfi v. Estonia, whilst distinguishing that case on the…
By Rachel Mueller The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland has reversed the jury verdict from a circuit court case between two former colleagues at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, because the trial court erroneously instructed the jury that the plaintiff had to present clear and convincing evidence to overcome a conditional privilege defense…
By Margaret Dunlay Terwey A District Court Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas recently dismissed all claims against six defendants pursuant to the Texas Citizens Participation Act (“TCPA”), Texas’s anti-SLAPP statute. Walker v. Beaumont Independent School District, No. 1:15-cv-379 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 11, 2016) (“Order”); Haynes v. Crenshaw, No….
By Andrew Nellis The New Jersey federal district court this month dismissed defamation and related claims against the author and publisher of the book The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men. Soobzokov v. Lichtblau, No. 15-6831 (D.N.J. Feb. 16, 2016) (unpublished). The author and publisher were sued by the…
By John C. Henegan In September of 2010, Vincent Forras, a former New York fire fighter and 9/11 first responder, filed a nuisance suit in New York state court against Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who had proposed in July 2010 along with others that an Islamic community center and mosque be built in Manhattan at…
MLRC Next Generation Committee members Anna Kadyshevich, senior counsel at HBO, Adrianna Rodriguez, associate at Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C., and Elizabeth Seidlin-Bernstein, associate at Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, LLP in Philadelphia, hosted a webinar discussing issues that may arise at various stages of reporting on hacked materials. Around 100 MLRC members from…
“Child Porn Found on Laptop” Banner Capable of Innocent Construction By Stephen J. Rosenfeld An Ohio appellate court affirmed a directed verdict for a television station, finding that an allegedly defamatory banner was capable of an innocent construction when viewed in the context of the entire broadcast. Sabino v. WOIO, No. 10257 ((Feb. 11, 2016)….
Army Sergeant’s Right of Publicity Claim Was Properly Dismissed By David Halberstadter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has finally issued its decision in an appeal that has been pending since 2011, affirming that the makers and distributors of the Academy Award®-winning motion picture The Hurt Locker is protected by the First…
By Jeff Hermes As promised in last month’s column (go read it, I’ll wait), we’re back with another review of significant cases, legislative developments, and other events in the world of media law in the past month. As usual, we’ll chew the fat on domestic legal issues and eschew the fat as far as general…
Download Publication MLRC The Monthly DailyA Roundup of Media Law Developments from the MediaLawDaily MLRC’s Next Gen Webinar On Reporting On Hacked Materials LIBEL & PRIVACY 9th Cir.: Court Confirms The Hurt Locker Is Fully Protected By The First Amendment In Long-Awaited DecisionArmy Sergeant’s Right of Publicity Claim Was Properly DismissedSarver v. Chartier Ohio App.:…