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October 2011

MediaLawLetter March 2011

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MediaLawLetter March 2011

 Download Publication SUPREME COURT U.S.: It’s All Over But The ShoutingDespite Early Mixed Signals, Eight Justices Vote to Protect Funeral ProtestsSnyder v. Phelps U.S.: Court Limits Two Federal Freedom of Information Act ExemptionsIn Separate Opinions, Grammar and Ordinary Meaning Rule as High Court Rejects Corporate “Personal Privacy” and “High 2”Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T Inc.;…

Ethics Corner: Newspaper v. Judge = Recusal?

In its 2008 rewording of the Model Code of Judicial Conduct, the American Bar Association retained in Rule 1.2 the noble command:  A judge “shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.” But if your editor thinks that his newspaper can blast away at a perceived judicial numbskull and then use this rule to force…

French Court Dismisses Criminal Libel Case Between Academics

A French criminal court this month dismissed a criminal defamation case brought against a New York University law professor, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case over an online book review and, moreover, that the review was not defamatory.  France v. Weiler (Tribunal de Grand Instance de Paris March 3, 2011). The court…

U.S. District Court Unseals Search Warrant Materials in Giffords Shotting Case

In the two months following the January 8, 2011 shootings near Tucson, Arizona, which killed U.S. District Judge John Roll and wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the government and the defense team have joined in the filing of motions to seal a host of records in the case – for example, autopsy reports, mug shots…

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Twitter Must Disclose Subscriber Records in Wikileaks Criminal Investigation

A federal magistrate judge this month refused to vacate an order directing Twitter to turn over certain subscriber information to the U.S. government as part of its Wikileaks investigation.   In re Application of the U.S. For an Order Pursuant to 18 USC 2703(d), Civ. 1:11-dm-00003 (E.D. Va. March 11, 2011) (Buchanan, J.).  The judge rejected…

Colorado District Court Quashes Subpoena to TV Station for IP Address in Murder Case

A Colorado Springs trial court this month quashed a murder defendant’s subpoena to a TV station for the computer address of an anonymous source who sent a news tip via the internet. In an eloquent ruling from the bench, Judge David Gilbert upheld the “extremely important principle” underlying Colorado’s newsperson’s privilege statute, as well as…

Second Circuit Preserves Gonzales Journalist’s Privilege In Face of Sixth Amendment Rights

In United States of America v. Treacy, Docket No. 09-3939-cr, 2011 WL 799781 (2d Cir. Mar. 9, 2011), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed the novel issue of the scope of cross-examination of a journalist in a criminal case.  While, notably, extending the journalist’s privilege to protect even non-confidential and…

Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of First Amendment Retaliation Claim

The Second Circuit affirmed dismissal of a local newspaper publisher’s §1983 First Amendment retaliation claim based on alleged defamatory statements by an elected official. Zherka v. Amicone, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 3944 (2d Cir. N.Y. Mar. 2, 2011) (Pooler, Wesley, Chin, JJ.).  Describing the case as one of “speech against speech,” the court held that…

New York Trial Court Dismisses Idea Theft and Slander Claims in Kids Cookbook Dispute

A New York state trial court dismissed idea theft and slander claims against HarperCollins and comedian Jerry Seinfeld in a dispute over rival cookbooks.  Lapine v. Seinfeld, 2011 NY Slip Op 21064, 1 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Feb. 23, 2011).  Plaintiff claimed that she developed the idea for a book about hiding healthy food in the…

Snyder v. Washington City Paper: Legitimate Defamation or Empty Intimidation Tactic?

Is a newspaper “entitled to employ lies, half-truths, innuendo and anti-Semitic imagery to … defame … a prominent member of the community in order to generate reader interest”?  According to the Washington Redskins’ principal owner, Daniel M. Snyder, the answer is a resounding “no,” so he is seeking defamation damages from the Washington City Paper. …

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Michigan Supreme Court Sings Dr. Dre’s Song After Decade of Litigation

After more than a decade of litigation over a concert DVD “bonus track” showing Detroit Police censoring a concert performance by famed rap music icon Dr. Dre (Andre Young), Snoop Dog and Eminem, the Michigan Supreme Court on March 18, 2011 ruled that Dre had not violated Michigan eavesdropping statutes, because the public officials had…

CBS Wins Appeal in Defamation Case

By Lauren Leahy and Daniel J. Kelly A Texas Court of Appeals has affirmed summary judgment for the media defendants in a lawsuit brought by a neurosurgeon who claimed he and his professional association were defamed by an investigative news report broadcast on an Austin, Texas television station, which was owned and operated by CBS…

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Court Dismisses Defamation and Privacy Claims Based on Youth’s Photograph With Article on Gangs

A state trial court in Brooklyn, N.Y. has dismissed claims for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the newspaper Metro NY that arose out of Metro’s publication of a young boy’s photograph accompanying an article about increased gang activity in New York City and the dangers posed to inner-city youth. …

Newspaper Articles about Prisoner’s Online Personal Ads Not Libelous

On February 22, 2011, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals in LaChance v. Boston Herald, Inc., 78 Mass. App. Ct. 910 (2011) affirmed a summary judgment decision in favor of the Boston Herald and reporter Michele McPhee on a defamation claim arising out of the publication of three articles reporting on personal advertisements placed on the…

Snyder Applied To Dismiss Right of Publicity Claim In Reality TV Case

Media defendants are finally catching a break in a series of federal lawsuits filed in Chicago based on the television series Female Forces.  In Best v. Malec, No. 09‑cv‑7749 (N.D. Ill. March 3, 2011), Judge Matthew Kennelly issued an order on March 3 granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s right of publicity claim…

Supreme Court to Consider Constitutionality of Restoration of Certain Foreign Copyrights

It is no surprise that the plaintiffs sought certiorari after the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit rejected their claim that Congress’s restoration of copyrights in foreign works that had fallen into the public domain in the United States for failure to comply with U.S. “formalities” did not violate either the Copyright…

U.S. Supreme Court Limits Two Federal Freedom of Information Act Exemptions

The U.S. Supreme Court this month issued two opinions narrowing the scope of federal Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) exemptions 7(C) and 2 in Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T Inc., 131 S. Ct. 1177, (“AT&T”) and Milner v. Department of the Navy, 2011 U.S. Lexis 2101, (“Milner”), respectively.  In what turned out to be a…

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It’s All Over But The Shouting

By the time Snyder v. Phelps reached the Supreme Court last October, it was making free speech enthusiasts nervous.  Its facts were profoundly unsympathetic, pitting the grieving father of a fallen Marine against the right of the tiny cult-like Westboro Baptist Church (“Westboro”) to protest military funerals with signs reading “Semper fi fags” and “Thank…

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