not defamatory to call Jew a believer in Jesus

2004-05-17 Thread lweinberg
May 17, 2004 According to a story in the current issue of The Forward, Florida circuit court judge Catherin Brunson dismissed a libel case brought by a Jewish woman against Jews for Jesus. The plaintiff alleged that the organization had published an announcement that the plaintiff had

Re: not defamatory to call Jew a believer in Jesus

2004-05-17 Thread Paul Finkelman
Do we know anything about the judge in this case; I realize judges are *supposed* to not bring their religious beliefs into the courtroom, but having testified against Chief Justice Roy Moore of Alabama, I know that is not always the case. Perhaps this judge is so certain of her own religous

RE: not defamatory to call Jew a believer in Jesus

2004-05-17 Thread Volokh, Eugene
Title: Message Possible. Or perhaps, at least as to defamation law,the judge believed that in fact, most people would respect others' decisions to switch religions -- even if they disagree with such a decision -- and thus would not subject the switcher to contempt, derision, or obloquy.

Re: not defamatory to call Jew a believer in Jesus

2004-05-17 Thread JMHACLJ
In a message dated 5/17/2004 8:25:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Could one argue that the court in this case in effect coerced this association upon the plaintiff, in disregard of her freedom of expressive association? Would it not be more accurate to say that the court

Re: not defamatory to call Jew a believer in Jesus

2004-05-17 Thread Avi Schick
InWeinerv. Time Life Inc.507 N.Y.S.2d 784the court dismissed a libel claim brought by an Orthodox Jew against Timemagazine, whichwrote that he "no longer wore his yarmulke while he was out driving." Weineralleged thatTime fabricated a quote that had him saying that he removed his

Re: not defamatory to call Jew a believer in Jesus

2004-05-17 Thread Steven Jamar
i haven't studied it for awhile, but i don't recall the test for defamation being how the person feels about it, but rather how others perceive it. unless it is defamation per se. it seems pretty unlikely that accusing someone of believing in Jesus is on a par with saying he or she has a