The Assault on Freedom for the Thought — and Speech — We Hate: Stifling, Restraining and Punishing Criticism and Protests
George FreemanOvercoming Trump's authoritarian maneuverings to shut up all dissenting views and shut down all opponents will be a prolonged fight. It will only be won if those being stifled and restrained, including media companies and law firms, take collective action and work together in a courageous and cohesive way to resist those who would minimize them.
New Jersey Court Denies Anti-SLAPP Motion in Political Speech Case
Bruce S. RosenThe New Jersey Appellate Division has issued a published decision on New Jersey’s anti-SLAPP law that appears to undermine the statute’s processes, while also potentially retreating from that court’s explicit requirements for pleading actual malice and the state’s strongly defined tolerance for hyperbolic political speech.
Washington UPEPA Appellate Decision Holds Parishioner’s Statement That Encounter with Pastor Was “Rape” Is Not Defamatory
Theo A. Lesczynski and Eric M. StahlIn a decision that strengthens First Amendment protections for sexual assault survivors who choose to speak out, the Washington Court of Appeals dismissed a pastor’s defamation lawsuit against a parishioner who characterized a sexual encounter with him as “rape.”
Texas Pickleball-Tennis Feud Defamation Case to Proceed
Matt KristoffersenA Texas pickleball supporter can proceed with his defamation lawsuit against a homeowner’s association member after she allegedly implied he was a “pervert, pedophile or sexual predator” at a board meeting.
Court Quashes Journalist Subpoena Under New York Shield Law
Michael Martin LinhorstThe Third Department Appellate Division quashed a subpoena seeking the identity of a journalist’s unnamed but non-confidential source, reaffirming the high bar New York’s Shield Law sets for obtaining any unpublished information from a journalist.
January 6, 2021: Saving the Truth from the Whitewash
Lauren Russell, Chuck Tobin, and Max MishkinBefore, the work for the coalition was about providing contemporaneous access to the evidence. Now, the mission pivoted to preserving history, making sure the truth about January 6 is never capsized in the waves of propaganda.
Tennessee Court Expands Access to Executions for Media Witnesses Based on the First Amendment and State Law
Claudia Liss-Schultz and Allyson VeileA Tennessee trial court joined the Ninth Circuit and the Middle District of Pennsylvania in holding that there is a First Amendment right of access to executions.
Substantial Similarity in Sedlik: The Potential Reckoning of Copyright’s “Intrinsic Test” in the Ninth Circuit
Nancy Wolff and Isabella HyunAlthough Kat Von D won the battle in this case, she may not have ultimately won the war. The days of the Ninth Circuit’s “intrinsic test” may be numbered, as evidenced by the many and detailed criticisms by scholars, practitioners, and now by the court itself.
Ten Questions to a Media Lawyer
Al-Amyn SumarNew York Times lawyer on his start in the business, defending Max Frankel, D.C. must-sees and how to win the Times as a client.