Internet Law
Lawyer Subpoenas Newspaper for Identity of Online Critic
Posted Nov 12, 2009, 07:36 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Kentucky lawyer wants to know the identity of an online critic who went by the screen name "supercalifragilistic.”
The lawyer, Astrida Lemkins of Lexington, Ky., claims supercalifragilistic defamed her in online comments on Kentucky.com, a website operated by the Lexington Herald-Leader, according to stories on Kentucky.com and WKYT.com. She has filed a suit against the unknown defendant and subpoenaed the newspaper for his or her e-mail address.
The commenter had claimed Lemkins was mentally ill and threatened to kill herself, according to WKYT.com. "I'm just trying to find out who wrote those defamatory comments," Lemkins told Kentucky.com. "I'm trying to find out who it is so I can pursue further action."
The comments appeared on a September story about Steve Nunn, a former state legislator accused of killing his girlfriend. Nunn is the son of former Kentucky Gov. Louie Nunn and “had lived a life of privilege hobnobbing with Kentucky's political elite,” the Associated Press reported in an earlier story. Lemkins had represented Nunn until she was replaced as his lawyer last month.
Herald-Leader editor Peter Baniak told Kentucky.com that the newspaper is attempting to contact the commenter to see if he or she plans to object to the subpoena “and assert his or her First Amendment right to anonymous speech." The comments in question have been removed from the website and the commenter banned from Kentucky.com.
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