Legal Tidbit No. 1 For Journalists: Understanding Damage Allegations In A Complaint
Posted: March 25, 2014 Filed under: General Law, Practice and Procedure | Tags: article III, damages, diversity, federal question, judge judy, jurisdiction Leave a commentOne of the objectives of this blog is to help my friends in the media understand legal issues that aren’t always clear to people without legal training. With that objective in mind, I’d like to take a moment to clear up some confusion about the meaning of allegations in a complaint concerning the amount of damages a plaintiff is seeking.
Is Michael Skakel A “Public Figure?,” Ctd
Posted: March 20, 2014 Filed under: General Law | Tags: defamation, judge bryant, libel, michael skakel, public figure 3 CommentsNancy Grace is not taking Federal District Court Judge Vanessa Bryant’s recent rejection of her motion to dismiss Michael Skakel’s libel suit sitting down. Today she filed a motion asking Judge Bryant to reconsider her ruling.
Lawyers And Time
Posted: March 20, 2014 Filed under: General Law | Tags: billable hours, m. kathleen caveney, time Leave a commentIn December 2001, a fascinating (at least to me anyway) article appeared in the New York Times discussing a just-published law review article by Professor M. Cathleen Kaveny, then of the University of Notre Dame School of Law (and, before that, a colleague of mine at Ropes & Gray in Boston). Cathleen held a dual appointment at the law school and Notre Dame’s divinity school, and the subject of her article was how the “billable hour mentality” distorts a lawyer’s sense of time and how that distorted sense of time shapes a lawyer’s life:
Hellooooo Saginaw (And Thanks)!
Posted: March 18, 2014 Filed under: Music and the Law Leave a commentIn case you didn’t know (and you probably didn’t), March 16, 2014 was Freedom of Information Day! Pat Johnston and Hilary Farrell, who co-host the “First Day on Sunday” morning show on WSGW, AM 790 in Saginaw, MI, marked the occasion on their show and on Pat’s blog, Out in Left Field.
How did they mark the occasion? A staple of the blog is the “Monday Music Minute.” Hilary scoured the Internet for songs about freedom of information and, after a little bit of work, found a song I had written a few years back to mark the 30th anniversary of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act. Click here for the audio segment of Pat’s and Hilary’s show featuring my song, “The FOI!”
Many thanks to Pat and Hilary for finding–and playing–my silly musical tribute to the Freedom of Information Act–and for Hilary’s very kind words about my resume. 😉
Is Michael Skakel A “Public Figure?”
Posted: March 17, 2014 Filed under: General Law | Tags: defamation, libel, michael skakel, Nancy Grace, public figure, Vanessa Bryant 1 CommentOf course he is.
Let me take a step back now and explain what I’m talking about. Michael Skakel is. . . . Wait, do I even need to tell everyone who he is? If I do, the point I want to make in this post is, well, wrong.
Gov. Malloy Announces Judicial Nominations
Posted: March 14, 2014 Filed under: General Law Leave a commentGovernor Malloy announced today that he is elevating two Superior Court judges to the Appellate Court and is nominating 16 attorneys to fill vacancies on the Superior Court.
Legal Health Break
Posted: March 14, 2014 Filed under: Legal Health Break Leave a commentThe last few blog posts have been a bit on the heavy side. Time for a break. Hat Tip to Andrew Sullivan for this one, which has nothing to do with the law but made me laugh (as only the French can do).
New York Times v. Sullivan, “Breathing Space” And Freedom Of Information
Posted: March 13, 2014 Filed under: General Law | Tags: foia, freedom of information, new york times v. sullivan, privacy, Sandy Hook Leave a comment“Whatever is added to the field of libel [individual privacy] is taken from the field of free debate [freedom of information].”
Daniel J. Klau (March 13, 2014) (paraphrasing New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)).
* * *
Fifty years (and 4 days) ago, the United States Supreme Court decided the landmark defamation case, New York Times v. Sullivan, which established the “actual malice” standard for defamation claims against public officials. That standard requires a public official who brings a defamation suit to establish not only that the challenged statements are false and defamatory, but also that the defendant made the statements with: i) actual knowledge of their falsity, or ii) reckless disregard for their probable falsity. That is a heavy burden for a public official to meet and, not surprisingly, the actual malice standard greatly reduces the likelihood of a newspaper or other media entity being held legally responsible for libeling a public official. Face it, as much as many people dislike the media, reporters and editors generally are not in the habit of saying things that they know for a fact to be untrue.
What does any of this have to do with freedom of information? I’m getting there, I promise.
How Facebook Ruined A Summer Vacation (And A Father-Daughter Relationship)
Posted: March 7, 2014 Filed under: Appellate Law | Tags: claw back, confidentiality, employment law, Facebook Leave a commentI do not practice employment law, but I know a good employment law case when I see one. Longtime Connecticut employment attorney Lori Rittman Clark, who is now practicing in Massachusetts, writes about Snay v. Gulliver Prepatory School, a case out of Florida involving the intersection of Facebook, settlement agreement confidentiality and claw back provisions. In an excerpt from her blog, Clark writes:
“Court Says Upskirting Is Legal” (Or Why Headlines Often Drive Me Crazy!)
Posted: March 6, 2014 Filed under: Appellate Law 1 CommentYesterday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the top court in the Commonwealth) decided a case involving a criminal prosecution against a man who used his cellphone camera to take pictures looking up women’s skirts–so-called “upskirting.” The SJC held that the state’s “Peeping Tom” law did not apply to the defendant’s conduct. Read the rest of this entry »
Appealingly Brief! 