California’s anti-SLAPP law will not save A&E Networks from a claim by a former gang member that the network improperly revealed his identity in a television documentary after agreeing to grant him anonymity. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said anti-SLAPP did apply to the free speech issues in the case, but there was other reasons to contest the legality of the exposure. (Courthouse News Service, September 16, 2013, by Tim Hull)
In returning the case to lower court, the three member panel of the appeals court wrote that “…California courts consistently hold that defendants may satisfy their burden to show that they were engaged in conduct in furtherance of their right of free speech under the anti-SLAPP statute, even when their conduct was allegedly unlawful.” (Metropolitan News-Enterprise, September 17, 2013, by Kenneth Ofgang)