Week of November 7, 2008 [1]
Welcome to the Citizen Media Law Brief, a weekly newsletter highlighting recent blog posts, media law news, legal threat entries, and other new content on the Citizen Media Law Project's website. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the CMLP or registered on our site, www.citmedialaw.org. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, you can unsubscribe by following the link at the bottom of this email or by going to http://www.citmedialaw.org/newsletter/subscriptions.
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News from the Citizen Media Law Project...
Along with everyone else in the world, the CMLP has been focused these past few weeks on the U.S. election. Now that the election is over, we can finally take stock of what we've achieved.
Through the incredible hard work of CMLP Assistant Director Sam Bayard, we've created a host of election-related resources for citizen media. These include a general overview [2] of legal issues associated with documenting your voting experience, with tips on how to stay out of trouble; substantive analyses of the laws regulating polling place activities for 12 states [3]; links to relevant statutes and election official contact information [4] for all 50 states and the District of Columbia; and a chart summarizing polling place laws in every state [5]. In the short time these materials have been up on our site, they've been viewed more than 24,000 times.
We also created a video primer [6] that provides a general overview of the law related to video at polling places. Amazingly, the video has received over 375,000 views on YouTube.
All of this hard work didn't go unnoticed by the mainstream media. We received favorable mentions in the New York Times, here [7] and here [8], and on National Public Radio's On the Media [9], among other places.
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The latest from the Citizen Media Law Project blog...
Sam Bayard updates readers on the Google Video Italia criminal case.
Charges Filed Against Google Executives in Italy Over User Video [10]
Sam Bayard highlights a legal threat from earlier in the election season.
Don't Blame The Messenger: Political News Site Faces Defamation Lawsuit By G.O.P. Official [11]
David Ardia provides a rundown of sites compiling information about the election.
Get Out And Vote: Election Day Resources [12]
CMLP Staff look at Massachusetts laws regulating polling place activities
Documenting Your Vote: Massachusetts Election Laws [13]
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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...
Carabelli v. The Michigan Messenger [14]
Posted Nov. 5, 2008
Brazil v. Roe [15]
Posted Nov. 3, 2008
Roe v. First Capitol News [16]
Posted Nov. 3, 2008
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Other citizen media law news...
Malaysian Court Frees Blogger
New York Times [17] - Fri. 11/07/08
Netherlands: New law will protect sources of bloggers
Media News [18] - Thurs. 11/06/08
How Will Obama's Election Impact Media Regulation?
Entertainment and Media Law Blog [19] - Thurs. 11/06/08
2 Colo. counties limit press access to polling places
The First Amendment Center [20] - Wed. 11/05/08
NiemanJournalismLab [21] - Sun. 11/02/08
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The full(er) Brief...
"Our intern Arthur Bright wrote an excellent post
this summer on the prospect of criminal defamation charges being filed
against Google executives in Italy over Google Video's hosting of a
clip featuring the abuse of a teenager who has Down syndrome. Ars Technica reports that Italian authorities have now filed charges. . . . Arthur's post examined whether EU law might provide CDA 230-like
protection for web hosts such as Google from lawsuits based on
third-party content, using a procedural mechanism similar to that found
in the DMCA.
His preliminary conclusion was that EU law does provide this
protection. Sounds like some Italian prosecutors disagree, or at least
believe that the provisions Arthur cited don't apply to criminal
actions (which looks like a strong argument). . . ."
Sam Bayard, Charges Filed Against Google Executives in Italy Over User Video [10]
"Just because the election is over, it doesn't mean that some of this season's political fights won't continue on in the courts. Here's one from our legal threats database, Carabelli v. The Michigan Messenger. James Carabelli, chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, sued The Michigan Messenger, a news site owned by the Center for Independent Media, for defamation in Michigan state court in October 2008. The lawsuit revolves around a September 10, 2008 article entitled 'Lose your house, lose your vote,' which discussed alleged plans on the part of Republican officials in Michigan to challenge voters based on lists of home foreclosures. The article, written by Messenger staff reporter Eartha Jane Melzer, attributed the following quote to Carabelli: 'We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses.' Carabelli denies having made this statement and the existence of any such plans. The article drew national attention and spurred a lawsuit by the Obama campaign against the Michigan Republican Party, which subsequently settled. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Don't Blame The Messenger: Political News Site Faces Defamation Lawsuit By G.O.P. Official [11]
"I am about to head out and vote, but before I do I want to exhort
all of our readers who haven't yet voted to GO OUT AND VOTE! Don't
know where to vote? Go here to find out. Once you've voted, do your
part and upload the details of your experience to one (or all) of the
organizations seeking to collect information about this election. How
long was the line to get into your polling place? Did you have
difficulty registering to vote or proving that you were registered?
Did you experience any problems with the voting equipment? Did you see
any evidence of voter fraud or suppression? You can report this
information to [the following organizations] . . . ."
David Ardia, Get Out And Vote: Election Day Resources [12]
"Massachusetts has no statutory provision that specifically
prohibits the use of photographic or video equipment inside a polling
place while you are voting. There is, however, a Massachusetts statute
that makes it a crime to 'hinder[], delay[] or interfere[] with . . . a
voter while on his way to [an] election, while within the guard rail,
while marking his ballot or while voting or attempting to vote.' Mass
Gen. Laws ch. 56, § 29. If your photographing or videotaping obstructs
the voting process or interferes with other voters, you could run into
problems with this provision. But, if your activity is not disruptive,
it appears to be legal (from the perspective of state law) for you to
take photographs or record video inside a Massachusetts polling place.
Local officials, however, may have the authority to prohibit or
discourage photography and videography inside polling places. . . ."
CMLP Staff, Documenting Your Vote: Massachusetts Election Laws [13]
