...classic SLAPP suit. The point of it was to shut Alexandria up and to shut up the commenters. I think you’ve touched on the fact that this was a—the people involved in this enjoy a position of privilege in the community, and they are not used to having their misdeeds laid bare.
In no way is this to suggest that the tragic acts in Steubenville, Ohio compare to Route 44 Toyota and their threats of a SLAPP suit against me for condemning their illegal business practices [violating FCRA].
It merely highlights that legal bullies exist all over. It is not a matter of truth or untruth. It's a matter of bullying.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to talk to you about the lawsuit brought against you, Alexandria, which also brings in your lawyer, Marc Randazza, the lawsuit about you making public these images that you got on Facebook. Can you talk about what you found and how—why you were sued?
ALEXANDRIA GODDARD: There were no images from Facebook. Anything that was posted on my website was for public viewing. All Twitter accounts were open. Nothing was private. The lawsuit itself was not because pictures were posted. It was because anonymous commenters on my blog basically dared to have an opinion about some members—you know, some of the people who were involved in the events of that night. And so, the family of the ex-boyfriend sued me and 25 commenters for defamation of character.
AMY GOODMAN: And you were named in the suit, though it was later dropped. Marc Randazza, can you talk about this First Amendment issue?
MARC RANDAZZA: Yeah, the lawsuit was filed as a classic SLAPP suit. The point of it was to shut Alexandria up and to shut up the commenters. I think you’ve touched on the fact that this was a—the people involved in this enjoy a position of privilege in the community, and they are not used to having their misdeeds laid bare. And Alexandria really picked up the ball when the local mainstream media dropped it and stuffed the story, essentially. And in order to keep that story stuffed, that’s why I’m convinced that the lawsuit itself was filed, because it wasn’t just against her—and, frankly, against her for comments that she made—but they sued her as well for allowing comments by other people, which there’s very clear federal law that renders her immune for those—for liability for those comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment