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California union subject to defamation suit as state court denies SLAPP claim

donal brown May 23, 2011

A California labor union is facing a defamation suit after a state appellate court ruled that a company executive was justified in filing suit against the union for distributing unflattering leaflets to the executive’s neighbors. The court ruled that the leafletting concerned a private matter, did not rise to the level of public interest and so was not protected under California’s anti-SLAPP law that outlaws strategic lawsuits against public participation. -db From the Metropolitan News-Enterprise,

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Multiple sources including those on Twitter pose challenges for journalists

donal brown May 19, 2011

As one journalist described it, he has “a personalized wire service” of over 2,000 sources on Twitter who provide him with tips and on-location news reports. While this sort of access is of inestimable value, it present immense difficulties as well. Writing in GigaOM, Mathew Ingram says that with gathering so much information on the fly, reporters have to work harder than ever to separate fact from rumor and verify the credibility of sources, some

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Dentist loses defamation case must pay Yelp and reviewers for legal fees

donal brown May 19, 2011

A California dentist, who sued Yelp and reviewers for a bad review concerning a filling the dentist put into the mouth of the reviewers’ six-year-old son, must pay court costs according to a ruling in district court. A California appellate court ruled last year that Yelp could not be held for defamation because the post was protected under the state’s anti-SLAPP law that protects public discussion of important issues, in this case the presence of

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Federal court says FBI and CIA must produce documents on Oklahoma City bombing sought under FOIA

donal brown May 19, 2011

A federal judge has ordered the FBI and CIA to to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request filed by a attorney seeking documents on the  Oklahoma City bombing. After the bombing, the attorney’s  brother, who sported a dragon tattoo similar to that of an unidentified accomplice in the bombing, was detained in federal prison.  Authorities said he committed suicide in solitary confinement. -db From the Courthouse News Service, May 18, 2011, by Jonny

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Federal appeals court affirms access to sentencing of criminals

donal brown May 19, 2011

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the press and public have a First Amendment right to attend the sentencing of a criminal defendant. The court also said that there must be public notice and a chance for the public to comment before the sentencing. The court noted that there was a long history of opening sentencing including high-profile cases and said that there were significant benefits such as  increasing public

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