Hollywood’s Dirty Little Secret to Beat Defamation Lawsuits: Statute Designed for Underdogs
The entertainment industry just chalked up another victory armed with a potent legal tool: California’s SLAPP law. More »
Archive for March, 2017
Lawmakers seek to close ‘Boeing’ loophole in Texas public info law – Houston Chronicle
Some state lawmakers are aiming to close an open records loophole in light of a 2015 Texas Supreme court ruling that allows governments to withhold records turned over to agencies by businesses who claim releasing the information would put them at a competitive disadvantage. More »
Is asking IRS agents to leak President Trump’s tax return a crime (and constitutionally unprotected)? – The Washington Post
It may well be constitutionally unprotected solicitation of crime, though the law in this area is vague. More »
Argument preview: Court to consider social media access for sex offenders – SCOTUSblog
In April 2010, Lester Packingham’s traffic ticket was dismissed, prompting him to take to Facebook to celebrate. He posted that “God is Good! How about I got so much favor they dismissed the ticket before court even started? No fine, no court costs, no nothing spent . . . Praise be to GOD, WOW! Than More »
Opinion | ‘Sex and the Constitution’: Sexual expression before the moralists invented obscenity
“From the early 19th century to the present, moral and religious concerns over sexually-oriented expression have played a central role in legal and constitutional debates about freedom of speech in the United States.” More »
Magazine Must Face ‘Welfare Queen’ Libel Claims
The Texas Supreme Court rejected a Dallas magazine’s bid to dismiss a lengthy battle over defamation claims brought by a woman it referred to as a “welfare queen” in a 2013 article. More »
Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee Cites His Decision in A&E Case in Query Over Libel Laws
Neil Gorsuch was asked at Tuesday’s Senate confirmation hearing whether he agreed with the precedent for libel and defamation. More »