Missouri Passes Bodycam Bill
Post-Ferguson Bill on Gov’s Desk By Jean Maneke Missouri’s legislature passed two bills this session containing identical language regarding how bodycam video would be handled by law enforcement in the state. Senate Bill 732 (2016) is the primary of the bills, and the language relating to such video can be found on page 53 of…
Court Finds Raw, Unpublished Footage Not Necessary in Capital Murder Case
By Amy Gross Reasoning that police detectives were available and willing to speak with defense counsel directly, a Superior Court judge in Atlanta applied the Georgia reporter’s shield law and ruled that raw, unpublished footage of interviews of those individuals filmed during the production of an episode of The First 48 was not necessary to…
FAA Releases Final Rule, Opens Skies for Drone Journalism
New Rule Eliminates Requirement for Pilot’s License By Charles D. Tobin, Christine N. Walz, and Mickey H. Osterreicher On June 21, 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced its long-awaited final rule on commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, or drones) weighing less than 55 lbs. The rule, which will be effective in…
3d Circuit Holds Porn Industry Record Keeping Laws Require Strict Scrutiny
Under Reed v. Town of Gilbert Statute is Content Based In another case demonstrating the impact of Reed v. Town of Gilbert on First Amendment jurisprudence, the Third Circuit this month held that a federal record keeping law for pornography producers, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2257 and 2257A, is a content based restrictions on speech that…
North Carolina Supreme Court Invalidates State Cyber-Bullying Statute
Compelling State Interest, But Statute Not Narrowly Tailored to Problem By Kirsten Jackson Earlier this month, the North Carolina Supreme Court unanimously held that a state cyber-bullying statute violated the First Amendment and therefore was invalid. State v. Bishop, (N.C. App. June 10, 2016). Background The case involved a high school student who was convicted…
Kirtsaeng Episode II: The Revenge of the Factors
(a.k.a. Did the Supreme Court Create More Confusion About the Proper Standard for Granting Attorneys’ Fees in Copyright Cases?) By Lincoln D. Bandlow & Rom Bar-Nissim On June 16, 2016, the U. S. Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in Kirtsaeng, dba BlueChristine99 v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc (“Kirtsaeng II”), addressing the Circuit…
Fired Columnist’s Suit Against Kansas City Star Dismissed
Article About His Firing Was True; Made Without Actual Malice By Eric Weslander A news publication’s article about its own termination of a public-figure columnist, for violating the organization’s plagiarism policy, was protected under the First Amendment from claims for defamation, prima facie tort, and negligent infliction of emotional distress, a Missouri state court concluded…
Eighth Circuit Reverses American Sniper Verdict
Unjust Enrichment Award Thrown Out; Defamation Claim Remanded By Leita Walker On June 13, the Eighth Circuit reversed a $1.8 million jury verdict in Jesse Ventura’s libel case against the Estate of Chris Kyle, a Navy Seal and author of American Sniper, who was killed in an unrelated incident in February 2013. Ventura v. Kyle….
Defamation Claim Against “American Hustle” Producers Dismissed on Appeal
Movie Scene Not False and Defamatory; Film a Matter of Public Interest By Lou Petrich On June 6, 2016, the California Court of Appeal reversed an Order by the Los Angeles Superior Court denying defendants’ California anti-SLAPP Act motion to strike a four count complaint for defamation. The Court of Appeal instructed the trial court…
A Textbook Claim of Libel by Implication Fails in Texas
A Divided Texas Supreme Court Rejects Pediatrician’s Lawsuit Against Broadcaster By Jim Hemphill Consider the following undisputed facts: Dr. Minda Lao Toledo is a medical doctor practicing in the Port Arthur, Texas area. Dr. Toledo was disciplined by the Texas Medial Board because she “engaged in sexual contact with a patient.” Dr. Toledo is a…
The Monthly Daily: An Experiment in Drinking from the Firehose
What Happens When You Condense a Month (or Two) of Stories into a Single Article? By Jeff Hermes So, I go on vacation for a few weeks after our Legal Frontiers in Digital Media conference, and what do I find? Donald Trump notching up media outlet after media outlet on his personal blacklist, and Peter…
MLRC in Paris, Gawker Lawyers Speak, and Trump Takes on Libel Law
From the Executive Director’s Desk Our second annual Paris Conference – despite having to survive a transit strike (impacting planes and trains), floods (the Louvre was closed so that thousands of pieces of artwork could be moved to higher floors), terrorist threats, and too much foie gras – was a success. Its goals are quite…
MediaLawLetter June 2016
Download Publication MLRC From the Executive Director’s Desk The Monthly Daily LIBEL & PRIVACY Tex.: A Textbook Claim of Libel by Implication Fails in TexasDivided Texas Supreme Court Rejects Pediatrician’s Lawsuit Against BroadcasterKBMT v. Toledo Cal. App.: Defamation Claim Against Producers of “American Hustle” Movie Dismissed on AppealMovie Scene Not False and Defamatory; Film a…