Week of February 13, 2009 [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...
The Citizen Media Law Project is looking to hire a Staff Attorney/Resident Fellow [2] to assist with the development of a pro bono network of media lawyers and law school clinics to support online journalism and new media startups.
We're really excited about this position and about bringing someone new on board to help with our work. We're building a network of lawyers across the country who want to work on online media cases, and we need an extremely capable individual to take the lead in screening new cases and clients, maintaining relationships with clients and members of the network, and providing direct legal assistance to clients in collaboration with lawyers and law students in Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic [3].
It's a great opportunity for experienced media, Internet, or IP law practitioners who want to serve the public interest, transition to academic pursuits, or simply work in an intellectually invigorating environment. The Staff Attorney will have many opportunities to expand his/her knowledge of technology and law, including frequent interactions with other fellows [4] at the Berkman Center and throughout Harvard University.
Please help us pass the word. Applications should be submitted as soon as possible, but no later than February 27, 2009. You can find more information about the position and how to apply here [2].
(We're also looking to hire law student interns for part-time work during the the spring semester [5]and for full-time work over the summer [6].)
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The latest from the Citizen Media Law Project blog...
Arthur Bright examines a Texas case raising First Amendment concerns.
Judge Orders 178 "John Does" Who Posted on Topix Be Revealed [7]
David Ardia reports on an outrageous misuse of judicial power.
Pennsylvania Student Sent to Jail for Lampooning Assistance Principal on MySpace [8]
Sam Bayard critiques a recent defamation decision for misapplying the fact/opinion distinction.
Neuwirth v. Silverstein: California Appellate Court Reverses Ruling Granting Motion to Strike [9]
Marc Randazza analyzes the demise of Juicy Campus as a vindication for the marketplace of ideas.
Juicy Campus Dies -- Holmes' Posse Rejoices [10]
David Ardia highlights a great new resource for accessing government information.
Citizen Journalist's Guide to Open Government [11]
Sam Bayard reports on another Egyptian blogger who was detained.
Egyptian Security Police Detain Blogger and Graduate Student Philip Rizk [12]
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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...
Sinclair v. TubeSockTedD [13]
Posted Feb. 10, 2009
Sinclair v. Democratic Underground [14]
Posted Feb. 10, 2009
State of Colorado v. Tafoya [15]
Posted Feb. 10, 2009
INA v. Lee [16]
Posted Feb. 10, 2009
Posted Feb. 10, 2009
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Other citizen media law news...
House members re-introduce media-shield bill
The First Amendment Center [18] - Fri. 02/13/08
House lawmakers hold libel tourism hearing
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press [19] - Thurs. 02/12/09
An Effort to Upgrade a Court Archive System Free and Easy
New York Times [20] - Thurs. 02/12/09
BlockShopper Revamps Links to Settle Lawsuit
MediaPost [21] - Wed. 02/11/09
Egypt: Second blogger arrested in less than a week
Global Voices Advocacy [22] - Tues. 02/10/09
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The full(er) Brief...
"Once again, the right to anonymous speech is being tested, this time in Texas, where a judge has ordered news portal Topix.com to reveal the identities of 178 forum posters accused of defaming a Texas attorney and his wife. The Clarksville Times reports that Mark and Rhonda Lesher were charged in April 2008 with the aggravated sexual assault of a former client of Mark's legal services. The Times writes that despite the accusations, 'a jury of 12 Collin County citizens needed just two hours to render a not guilty verdict' in the January trial, apparently on the basis of evidence presented by the Leshers' attorney indicating that the alleged victim had lied during her testimony. But according to the Leshers' 365-page petition, '[a]lmost immediately following' the April 2008 allegations and throughout the nine months in which the criminal case was pending, they became the subject of ongoing, allegedly defamatory comments on Topix forums. The Leshers claim 178 John Does authored some 1700-plus defamatory statements, accusing them of being criminals, being sexual deviants, carrying noxious diseases, and the like. . . ."
Arthur Bright, Judge Orders 178 "John Does" Who Posted on Topix Be Revealed [7]
"The Associated Press is reporting that two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers: 'For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses.' One of the juveniles involved was sentenced to a wilderness camp for building a spoof MySpace page that lampooned her assistant principal in White Haven, Pennsylvania. According to the Associated Press: 'Hillary Transue did not have an attorney, nor was she told of her right to one, when she appeared in Ciavarella's courtroom in 2007 for building a MySpace page that lampooned her assistant principal. Her mother, Laurene Transue, worked for 16 years in the child services department of another county and said she was certain Hillary would get a slap on the wrist. Instead, Ciavarella sentenced her to three months; she got out after a month, with help from a lawyer.' . . ."
David Ardia, Pennsylvania Student Sent to Jail for Lampooning Assistance Principal on MySpace [8]
"On Monday, a California appellate court reversed a trial court that had granted Richard Silverstein and Joel Beinin's motion to strike Rachel Neuwirth's defamation lawsuit against them under the California anti-SLAPP statute (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16). Neuwirth, a journalist and political commentator who espouses staunchly pro-Israel views, sued over two allegedly defamatory statements, one made by Silverstein on his blog, Tikun Olam, and the other made by Beinin on the 'Alef' listserv and subsequently re-published by Silverstein. . . . In Monday's decision, the appellate court agreed that the anti-SLAPP statute applied to Neuwirth's lawsuit, holding that Beinin and Silverstein's statements were made in a "public forum" (that is, on websites) in connection with an 'issue of public interest' (that is, Israeli-Palestinian relations). But, the appellate court disagreed with the lower court's determination that Neuwirth had failed to show a probability of succeeding on the merits of her claims. . . . Not having examined the record before the appellate court, I can't say whether the appellate court's specific finding on actual malice was warranted. But, I disagree with the court's assumption that Silverstein's 'Kahanist swine' comment is a statement of fact that can form the basis for a defamation claim, rather than a statement of Silverstein's subjective opinion about Neuwirth's political views. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Neuwirth v. Silverstein: California Appellate Court Reverses Ruling Granting Motion to Strike [9]
"Juicy Campus -- often the target of anti-free-speech types in higher education has died. And I am glad. Juicy Campus was a cesspool with virtually no redeeming qualities. (But that isn't why I am glad it is dead) Compare to AutoAdmit, which actually had (and still has) some worthwhile discussions. The online defamation that took place on AutoAdmit was the exception, not the rule. AutoAdmit had tens of thousands of discussion threads and a few dozen were nasty and brutish -- well, until it became famous for those few dozen -- and then it attracted the cesspool crowd en masse. . . . As much as I hated the site, I declined to join the chorus calling for its government-imposed demise. I still believed that Juicy Campus had a right to exist -- or rather that it might have a right to exist, but that neither the government nor the universities had a right to make that decision. The marketplace of ideas should have been left to make that determination -- and it did. The marketplace spoke. Juicy Campus couldn't find advertisers because it was the online equivalent of a sorority gossip session over a few lines of cheaply-cut cocaine in a frat house bathroom. . . ."
Marc Randazza, Juicy Campus Dies -- Holmes' Posse Rejoices [10]
"J-Lab, the Institute for Interactive Journalism at American University's School of Communication, just announced the launch of 'The Citizen Journalist’s Guide to Open Government,' an extensive multimedia module to help citizen media creators understand how to obtain public records and gain access to public meetings. The Guide to Open Government, the latest in a series of legal-themed modules produced by J-Lab, is hosted on the Knight Citizen News Network. Geanne Rosenberg, a lawyer and founding chair of Baruch College’s undergraduate Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions, created the module for J-Lab. The guide addresses, among other things, how to obtain local, state and federal government records; how to appeal when a records request is denied; what steps to take if you've been excluded from a government meeting; and how to gain access to court proceedings. It's a great supplement to the Access to Government Information and Newsgathering sections in our legal guide, which cover some of these issues as well. . . ."
David Ardia, Citizen Journalist's Guide to Open Government [11]
"Reuters, the LA Times, and the International Herald Tribune report that Egyptian state security police detained blogger Philip Rizk on Friday night, when he was returning to Cairo after a march to raise awareness about conditions in the Gaza Strip. Rizk is a graduate student in the Middle East Studies program at the American University in Cairo, a political activist, and documentary filmmaker, and he blogs about Palestinian issues on his blog tabula gaza. The authorities are holding Philip without formal charge, a common practice in the Egyptian state security system. . . . Sadly, this is not the first time -- not by a long shot (see, for example, here, here, here, and here) -- that the Egyptian authorities have used detention without charge as a weapon of censorship. Rizk holds dual Egyptian-German citizenship. Both the German embassy and AUC officials are working to clarify the situation, according to the Herald Tribune. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Egyptian Security Police Detain Blogger and Graduate Student Philip Rizk [12]
