Some background on the Emerson case:
http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=emerson
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Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 15:08:21 -0500
From: "Paul Levy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Development in the Eye on Emerson case
The judge in the case of Donato v. Moldow has issued a decision quashing
the subpoena issued by several public officials of Emerson, New Jersey,
seeking to identify the authors of several dozen messages posted on an
Internet bulletin board that criticized them or called them names. The
judge also dismissed the lawsuit against Steven Moldow based on his
sponsorship of the bulletin board.
A copy of our press release follows:
New Jersey Officials Barred From Learning Identities of Citizens Who Posted
Criticisms on Web
Court Cites First Amendment Rights of Critics, Adopts Arguments Set Forth
by Public Citizen, ACLU
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Issuing a ruling that strongly upholds the First
Amendment rights of anonymous Internet speakers, a New Jersey judge has
refused an attempt by Emerson, N.J., public officials to learn who
criticized them on the Internet. The superior court judge also dismissed
the officials' suit against the Emerson citizen who created the Internet
bulletin board devoted to public affairs in Emerson on which the citizens
anonymously aired their views.
Two Emerson council members, a council candidate and the head of the local
Republican Party had sued 60 John and Jane Does as well as the site's
creator, claiming defamation and harassment. The officials sought
information from Internet service provider VantageNet that would identify
those who posted the messages. The Bergen County superior court judge,
however, quashed the subpoena. The decision was made in late December but
was released to the public today.
Adopting arguments advanced in an amicus brief by attorneys for Public
Citizen and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ),
Judge Marc Russello ruled that the plaintiffs had not met the strict tests
established by New Jersey courts for a subpoena to be served to obtain the
identities of anonymous Internet speakers. The court faulted the
plaintiffs for not providing sufficient notice of the subpoena on the
bulletin board and for not providing a sufficient basis to show that each
of the allegedly defamatory statements was speech that could be the basis
for a lawsuit. Also agreeing with the groups, the court extended the
benefit of its ruling to all of the anonymous speakers, regardless of
whether they were represented by attorneys.
"This suit is a clear attempt to intimidate the townspeople so they stop
making comments about their officials," said Paul Alan Levy, an attorney
for Public Citizen, which got involved in the case because it has a history
of defending First Amendment rights. "The judge's decision protects
citizens' rights to participate in anonymous debate about their public
officials, without fear of being dragged into court."
The court also ruled that no legal action could be brought against the Web
master for the allegedly defamatory statements published on the bulletin
board by the anonymous posters, because a federal statute, the
Communications Decency Act, places responsibility for Internet speech
squarely on the speakers themselves while protecting Web masters and
Internet service providers from being sued for statements made by others
using their facilities.
"Steven Moldow's site, which is devoted to topics relating to local
government, represents a terrific gift to the community," Levy said. "If
someone like Moldow has to face the prospect of ruinous litigation from any
person who is criticized on the Web site, then very few citizens would ever
set up such valuable sites."
Public Citizen attorneys also participated as amicus curiae in the
precedent-setting case of Dendrite v. Doe, where the New Jersey Appellate
Division became the first appellate court in the country to apply First
Amendment principles when setting standards for the identification of
anonymous Internet speakers. Public Citizen's attorneys have represented
Internet speakers in cases in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
###
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in
Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.citizen.org.
Paul Alan Levy
Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 588-1000
http://www.citizen.org/litigation/litigation.html
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