N.Y. Anti-SLAPP Statute Not Retroactive
So a N.Y. appellate court held yesterday.
Free Speech
On Facebook, You Can't Threaten Violence…Unless It's Aimed at Invading Russians
Plus: More evidence against masking schoolchildren, Amazon's no-checkout grocery store, and more...
A Judge Finds a 'Substantial Basis' for the Claim That Fox News Recklessly Promoted Trump's Election Fantasy
The decision allows Smartmatic to proceed with its defamation lawsuit against Fox, two anchors, and Rudy Giuliani.
First Amendment Challenge to D.C. Licensing Requirement for Professional Counselors May Go Forward
The case was brought by a Virginia counselor who wants to counsel D.C. clients by video.
Laura Kipnis: How COVID Supercharged the #MeToo Movement
The Love in the Time of Contagion author says sexual paranoia is on the rise.
Arrest for Chalking "Fuck Pigs!" and "Fuck the Cops" May Be Unconstitutional Retaliation
The Ninth Circuit doesn't hold that the chalking ban is unconstitutional, but does conclude that Las Vegas arrests for chalking (as opposed to citations) may be so rare as to raise the inference that they were retaliation for the message.
Can Cardi B Get an Injunction Stopping Tasha K from Repeating Libelous Statements?
Yevhen V says likely yes.
New Zealand Joins the International Crackdown on COVID Mandate Protests
Disagreement over pandemic policy accelerates the slide toward authoritarianism in another country.
"Suggestion of Sexual Conduct Alone Cannot Constitute Obscenity,"
whether as to anime, "great literature," "soap operas," or "internet memes."
Say Opera Houses Announce They "No Longer Engage With Artists That Support Israel,"
given what the opera houses view as Israel's improper control over the West Bank.
Libel Lawsuit Against Black Lives Matter Sacramento Can Go Forward
BLM posted racist e-mails that purported to have come from plaintiff, and added that plaintiff's "INFORMATION HAS BEEN VERIFIED"; but the e-mails had apparently come from an ex-tenant who was impersonating her.
Vivek Murthy's Demand for Data on COVID 'Misinformation' Is Part of a Creepy Crusade to Suppress Dissent
The surgeon general's definition of misinformation includes statements that are arguably or verifiably true.
University of Milano-Bicocca Suspends Dostoevsky Class, Then Backtracks
Putin's crime, Dostoevsky's punishment. Well, he's dead, maybe the students' and teacher's punishment.
Motivational Speaker Loses Copyright Lawsuit Against High School
And has to pay $10K in attorney fees to the high school as well.
Protests Outside People's Homes (Residential Picketing) and the First Amendment
They can be banned, so long as the ban is content-neutral, and so long as people remain free to generally march through the neighborhood (as opposed to protesting right outside the target's home).
Exposing Donations to Political Causes Can Chill Free Speech
Two lessons from the Canadian truckers' protest
Why Hate Speech Laws Backfire
A new history of free speech argues the best way to defeat hate speech is by openly confronting it in the public square.
Interesting Public Records vs. Academic Freedom Case Related to Animal Research
UPDATE: As predicted, PETA has moved to intervene. FURTHER UPDATE: The court has indeed allowed PETA to intervene.
College Basketball Star Wayne Arnold (Concordia) Sues for Libel, Discrimination, Etc.
It all started with a stolen PlayStation 5.
Michigan Witness-Retaliation-by-Threats Law Requires Intent to Threaten Physical Injury (or Crime)
One judge would have held that threats to injure reputation are criminalized by the law, but the other two disagreed.
Libel Plaintiff Cites "Cancel Culture" in Seeking Protective Order for Identities of Witnesses
The case stems from defendant's claims that plaintiff, a comic book writer, said racist things to her at a comic-book-business social function.
The Verdict Against Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Highlights the Problems With Federal Hate Crime Statutes
Such laws, which allow redundant prosecutions based on defendants' bigoted beliefs, supposedly are authorized by the amendment that banned slavery.
Can a Web Designer Be Forced To Make Gay Wedding Pages? The Supreme Court Will Decide
Will this follow-up to the famous wedding cake case finally decide if this is mandated speech violating the First Amendment?
Arizona House Committee Approves Bill To Criminalize Filming Cops on the Job
"You'll have a bunch of people who plead to avoid trial or go broke trying to vindicate their rights."
Libel Case Based on Allegations that Plaintiff Had Made Specific Racist Statements Can Go Forward
The plaintiff, Frank Gogol, and the defendant, Malissa White, are both comic book writers.
