Alabama Criminal Libel Revival on Governor's Desk

A bill to revive Alabama's criminal defamation statute after it was held unconstitutional 15 years ago is awaiting action by Governor Robert J. Bentley after passing the state legislature last week.

Alabama Continues Quixotic Quest

As reported by the Decatur Daily, a bill to revive Alabama's criminal defamation law has passed the state Senate after it was amended to clarify that criminal libel could not be used against statements regarding elected officials or candidates for elected office.

Alabama Bills Would Revive Criminal Libel Law

Two bills (HB529 and SB404) prefiled in the Alabama legislature before the start of its current regular session would revive the state's criminal defamation statute, 15 years after the Alabama Supreme Court held that law unconstitutional.

Another Criminal Libel Law Falls

The Washington Post's Volokh Conspiracy blog reports that a Montana trial court has held that state's criminal libel law unconstitutional. This leaves only a dozen states with such statutes, even though their constitutionality is suspect.

Georgia Formally Repeals Criminal Libel

Georgia has formally repealed its criminal defamation statute, Ga. Code § 16-11-40, 23 years after it was held unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court.

Another One Bites the Dust: Minnesota's Criminal Libel Law Struck Down

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has held that the state's criminal libel law (Minn. Stat. section 609.765), which allows for punishment of up to one year imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $3,000 for statements "which expose[] a person or a group, class or association to hatred, contempt, ridicule, degradation or disgrace in society, or injury to business or occupation,"is unconstitutionally overbroad. Minnesota v. Turner, No. A14-1408 (Minn. App. May 26, 2015).

A Website's Empty Threats

Last week The New York Times "Haggler" column reported about an online appliance retailer (fullhouseappliances.com) which threated to sue the poster of comments critical of the company for allegedly violating the terms of service of the retailer's web site

10th Circuit Revives Criminal Libel Suit

In a decision released on Monday (July 19), the federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals revived a civil rights lawsuit brought by a student whose home was searched and computer was seized after he mocked a university professor on a parody website.  By reviving the suit, the appeals court also questioned the validity of applying Colorado's criminal libel statute to satire and parody. Mink v. Knox, No. 08-1250 (10th Cir. July 19, 2010).

Prosecutors Get Creative Online

The Internet Cases blog reports on a California appeals court decision allowing prosecution under the state's "false personation" statute (Cal. Penal Code section 529) of a man who created a fake MySpace profile of a church pastor, including statements that the pastor has engaged in homosexual activity and drug use. 

Dealing with Foreign Legal Threats

cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)  
Online publishers should realize that Internet content is available worldwide, and may lead to legal problems outside the United States. While this tends to primarily be an issue for big companies (with deep pockets), it's still a matter of concern for small organizations and even individuals, as illustrated by the French prosecution of an NYU law professor in 2010 for hosting an allegedly defamatory book review.

Man Bites Dog: Prosecutor Pays a Price for Chasing Commenters

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project) 

When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news. — attributed to  New York Sun city editor John B. Bogart (1848- 1921)

Unfortunately, it's become an increasingly common occurrence: a public official, outraged over something posted about him/her anonymously on the Internet, asks a court to issue a subpoena to find out the identity of the poster(s). The Legal Threats Database contains a number of examples, and the "Legal Protections for Anonymous Speech" section of the Legal Guide lays out the legal analyses that courts have used to evaluate these subpoenas. 

So it wasn't too surprising when Pittsburg County, Oklahoma District Attorney Jim Bob Miller issued a subpoena to Harold King, operator of the McAlester Watercooler forum site, seeking information, including (oddly) social security numbers, to identify about 35 pseudonymous posters on the site.  But what made the case unusual was that D.A. Miller was one of the individuals who had filed a complaint for criminal defamation (details here) against King with the local police. 

I Speak on Criminal Libel

Video of Eric P. Robinson, Media Law Resource Center Staff Attorney, on Criminal Libel
http://www.kcnn.org/legal_risk/rule_2_video/