Media & Communications Law

So, What’ve You Been Up To?

Same-Sex Grads Take Issue with University After Alumni Update Casts Them as Cohabiting Couple

Nov 1, 2007 8:53 PM CDT

Verizon to Feds: No Warrants, No Problem

One of the nation’s biggest cell phone service providers has been quietly providing another service, too, for the past several years. When asked by the federal government, Verizon Communications has handed over customer telephone records in hundreds of “emergency” cases since 2005, without requiring warrants or attempting to determine the…

Oct 16, 2007 11:43 PM CDT

Feds Pursue Obscene in Sea of Porn

Created in response to pressure from conservative groups, a little-known federal task force is trying to hold the line on obscenity. It is targeting for prosecution a small number of fringe film producers in the nation’s booming pornography industry, focusing on movies that, although otherwise legal, may fall within the…

Oct 9, 2007 3:21 PM CDT

Criticized in Sermon, Parishioner Sues

Criticized by a parishioner in private telephone messages, a Catholic priest in suburban Chicago might have been best-advised to turn the other cheek. Instead, he fired back from the pulpit, allegedly saying he’d checked beforehand with a lawyer who’d approved his comments. After parishioners arrived at mass at St. Thomas…

Oct 8, 2007 6:50 PM CDT

Blogger Back Online, Trumping Lawyers

Seemingly on the ropes after a Uzbekistan billionaire’s lawyers pressured his former Web host into taking down his site, an Internet critic is back online today in an ongoing Internet slugfest that has drawn worldwide attention to the way libel issues are handled in the blog world. Craig Murray, a…

Oct 8, 2007 3:13 PM CDT

Defamation Suit for Lawsuit Press Conference Allowed

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Georgia gun shop claiming it was defamed by statements made in a press conference announcing a lawsuit. The suit was filed against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials. The defamation allegations stem from a May…

Oct 5, 2007 1:31 PM CDT

Reporter Shield Law Moves Ahead in Senate

A proposed federal law that would protect journalists from having to reveal their sources in federal court has moved forward in the U.S. Senate. The Free Flow of Information Act was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee onto the floor today, reports the Associated Press. If enacted, it would…

Oct 4, 2007 4:27 PM CDT

John Grisham Sued for Libel

The best-selling author of numerous legal thrillers has been sued for libel over his first nonfiction work, The Innocent Man. In an unusual federal libel conspiracy case, John Grisham, along with other authors and publishers, has been sued by a prosecutor and law enforcement officer over three nonfiction books published…

Oct 1, 2007 10:49 PM CDT

OJ Simpson Book, ‘If I Did It,’ a Best-Seller

It couldn’t have been O.J. Simpson’s plan, since he doesn’t get any of the profits. But the former superstar’s arrest earlier this month has helped launch his new book, If I Did It, to the top of the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list. It is now No. 2, according…

Sep 28, 2007 4:13 PM CDT

Verizon Does About Face on Abortion-Rights Campaign

Updated: Last week Verizon Wireless turned down a request by an abortion-rights group for a text message program, igniting debate over whether mobile companies should be able to censor messages. Today the company reversed itself, the New York Times reports. The original decision was a “mistake,” according to Verizon spokesman…

Sep 27, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Judge Makes ‘Bear-Baiting’ Case Against TV Show Producers

A British judge castigated the producers of the nation’s most popular daytime talk show yesterday as he imposed a hefty fine on a participant who reportedly was provoked into a physical attack, in front of a studio audience, on his wife’s lover. The producers of the Jeremy Kyle Show—which, as…

Sep 25, 2007 7:11 PM CDT

Cabbies Sue, Say GPS Risks Trade Secrets

Fearful of an invasion of privacy that could allow others to take advantage of a valuable trade secret—the best driving routes to find fares—New York cabdrivers have filed suit to block new rules requiring the installation of GPS and other new technology. While not all taxi drivers and cab owners…

Sep 20, 2007 1:25 AM CDT

Dan Rather Sues CBS for $70 Million

Claiming that CBS News made him a “scapegoat” for the network’s flawed reporting concerning President George W. Bush’s service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War era, former 60 Minutes reporter Dan Rather sued today for $70 million. His lawsuit, which names as defendants the network, its corporate parent…

Sep 19, 2007 9:29 PM CDT

Rutgers Player Drops Imus Slander Suit

A Rutgers University basketball player who was targeted, along with teammates, in racist on-air comments by Don Imus has dropped her defamation suit against the shock jock and CBS Radio. As detailed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post, Kia Vaughn claimed libel per se, which eliminates requirements that would otherwise apply…

Sep 12, 2007 11:34 PM CDT

Cost of TV-Phone-Net Deals: No Privacy

Big Brother may not be watching you. But, chances are, Corporate America is—especially if you have a package cable television or telephone deal. If you read the fine print on your contract for phone, cable television and Internet service with certain providers, it’s clear that “not only does the company…

Sep 12, 2007 3:44 PM CDT