ALL MEDIA ADVISORY For Thursday, July 19 (Released today by The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation) ** "Drug War on Trial� Hearing In NY Supreme Court ** ** Friday, 9:30 A.M., Narco News Internet Case Set to Set Cyber Speech Precedent ** The Mexico-based Internet web site, Narconews.com, two veteran journalists and renowned First Amendment attorneys will have their first day in court in the �Drug War on Trial� case, Friday in New York State Supreme Court. The hearing, which is open to the press and public, will take place in courtroom 205 at 71 Thomas Street, Manhattan. Narco News will hold a press conference immediately following the hearing. NY State Supreme Court Justice Paula Omansky will hear oral arguments in the case of Banco Nacional de Mexico vs. Mario Menendez, Al Giordano and the Narco News Bulletin in a libel suit that has already been dismissed by three Mexican judges. Prominent free speech attorneys Martin Garbus (representing Menendez) and Tom Lesser (representing Narco News) and journalist Al Giordano (representing himself) will make oral arguments on behalf of their motions to dismiss the case. The Electronic Frontier Foundation � EFF � has also intervened on behalf of Narconews.com over an important jurisdictional issue that could have profound consequences for all drug policy web sites. The Court will determine at this stage of the proceedings whether reports investigated, published and uploaded from Mexico, about events and news stories already published in Mexico, can be sued by the National Bank of Mexico, after it lost the same case three times in Mexico, and be sued in New York. The Court will also determine, as its first task, whether the reports on Narconews.com � an internationally respected anti-prohibitionist web site published by former Boston Phoenix political reporter Al Giordano � constituted protected opinion under New York law, or were �of and concerning� the bank when they were primarily about official government behavior and media criticism regarding the war on drugs. �The entire drug policy reform movement is watching this case very closely,� said Matt Briggs, a spokesman for the Lindesmith Center � Drug Policy Foundation. �Because it could impact the robust speech and dialogue that are so necessary to reforming the drug laws. If web sites and journalists around the world can be dragged into New York court to defend an expensive lawsuit, that would have a chilling effect on the free speech of all of us.� - 30 - _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
