Freedom of Speech, My Asterisk*
I received an interesting post email yesterday morning from Law Blog that I think is worthy of some discussion. A disgruntled basketball fan started a blog called FireGeorgeKarl.com because he’s unhappy with the Denver Nuggets record of 35-24, which is not that bad, I mean at least they’re not the Knicks.
Apparently this blog got the attention of George Karl’s attorney, Bret Adams, and here is his email response to the blog’s author:
Is your life really this boring and meaningless that you would spend the hours necessary to create such a website? As Coach Karl’s counsel I am putting you on notice that I will sue you into bankruptcy should you cross the boundaries of permissible speech.
Law Blog then ‘reached out to Adams’ and this is the response they received, in part:
While George Karl may be a public figure within the sports community, there are limits to what is fair comment under New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964). Many cases quote from the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 59 that a statement is defamatory if it tends to harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the community or deter third persons from associating or dealing with him …free speech has its limits….and there are boundaries and consequences.
I work in a legal environment and I read about cases of people being sued because of public defamation, and winning. I think freedom of speech is good up until someone gets tired of listening to you and what people may not realize is that there are limitations.
How do you feel about freedom of speech and blogging? Does the First Amendment really protect your free speech? What about comments from readers on your blog? Has someone ripped apart your reputation because they didn’t agree with your post? Has someone bashed you on another blog? How would you handle it?
The author of FireGeorgeKarl said that his blog is not a personal attack on Karl, but more so about his dissatisfaction with his coaching and it doesn’t appear that Karl is going to file charges. It does however bring up a lot of questions about the future of blogging. Lawyers, you gotta love ‘em!
on March 6, 2008 at 4:55 am
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Wow! What a timely post. I was having issues over copyright vs. Fair Use (btw, if you can offer any assistance I’d really appreciate it!)
I like Freedom of Speech just like the next person. I’m not sure what its limitations are, though. I would need someone to outline exactly what “defamation of character” was (I mean get the general idea). But when it comes to blogging, I think we all walk a fine line. I guess I’m torn on this.
No one has ever ripped apart my reputation on another blog or on my blog. I’m not entirely sure what I would do. After I got over the initial shock, I supposed I would contact the blog owner and see if maybe there was some kind of misunderstanding.
Jillian’s last blog post..The Good Drugs Come Later, But For Now Take These…
on March 6, 2008 at 5:42 am
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That’s kinda scary. I have had a few smart comments from anonymous people. I don’t really care though. If I think the comment might hurt or affect a reader or something, I just delete it. And I don’t think anyone has said anything nasty about my blog on other blogs, “what I don’t know doesn’t hurt”. Besides everyone is intitled to their own opinions, or maybe NOT? I wouldn’t want leagl matters interfering with blogging!
Tondy’s last blog post..I NEED MORE TIME! I’m job hunting!
on March 6, 2008 at 6:31 am
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I always err on the side of caution. I don’t want to find out too late that something I said caused harm to a person’s reputation. Not worth the risk, especially because I’m not up on the finer points of the law regarding defamation. If I ever make the news, I want it to be about something positive I said!
As for comments, anything that’s hurtful to another commenter gets the ax. Anything that’s hurtful to me… I try to leave it up so I can show how it makes that person look. I can take most slings and arrows (there haven’t been many), reminding myself that if I’m going to open my blog up to the world, I’m going to get a few nuts here and there. Goes with the territory.
Kathy’s last blog post..It Rained Ice Cream
on March 6, 2008 at 9:36 am
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I remember a while back I was traveling from New Mexico to Georgia to see my parents. I had gotten a Family Pass from my uncle who worked at Continental at the time and it meant I could fly free, but others came before me. Kind of like being on stand by indefinitely.
In the beginning I didn’t mind the idea of it since it was free, but I soon realized I was in for a nightmare. I got bumped from flight after flight. We ended up having to pay out of pocket for me to even get out of the Lubbock airport because they wouldn’t let me fly. On the way back, I ended up spending 2 days sitting in the airport waiting to get back home. And they lost my luggage going both ways! So, I complained. And I got the rudest [bleeeeeep] on the planet.
You know what I did? I put her name in caps in bold with her title and number on my blog so all the world could see and I didn’t feel bad about it. She found it many months later and emailed me saying she was going to sue me and this that and the other. So I forwarded it to her superiors at Continental. Never heard from her again.
Monique’s last blog post..Yesterday I Voted With A Racist
on March 7, 2008 at 1:57 am
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Wow. That lawyers needs better things to do with his time than worry about a little blog that doesn’t like his client’s coaching skills (or lack thereof). Cry me a river.
Corrina’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
on March 7, 2008 at 7:14 am
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Jillian, fortunately, I’m not a lawyer, so I couldn’t advise you on fair use over copyright. I’m not familiar with everything about those laws…I’m sure a search on the web can give you an idea.
Tondy, crazy things happen and people think they can continue to say whatever and hide behind the First Amendment for protection. Lots of people come out surprised.
Kathy, so do I. I try not to write or say anything I wouldn’t want my mother to read. How much better would this world be if people just treated others the way they wanted to be treated. Think first….any practicing lawyers out there?
Well Monique, if she was rude first she was in the wrong to begin with…I usually write letter to complain and that usually helps.
Corrina, I’m going to keep a tight lip on my own comment, only because….but I’m sure it was just a scare tactic from the lawyer to get the guy to cease and desist…i’m surprised too that he responded.
on March 7, 2008 at 2:45 pm
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Great topic!
I always enjoy these stories of Lawyers swinging the heavy hammer of justice at any blog or public forum that attempts to critique or complain about about an individual in the public spotlight under their representation.
I’m not a lawyer myself, so this is just my own personal option. If the person is in the public eye, they are fair game to criticism, ridicule and scrutiny as long as the author of such comments does not cross the boundary into libel.
The formula I follow is: In the Public Eye + Opinion + True Facts – Personal Attacks = Safe from legal repercussion.
And the “minus personal attack” portion of that formula is key. Stating your opinion that someone has done poorly in their duty and should be removed from their job is one thing, but to say that “Joe Blow is a slob, dumb witted and smells like wet cat food and the sooner they’re tossed out on their butt the better” would clearly be a libelous personal attack.
Another great example of over zealous lawyers attacking a blog would be the infamous “Don’t post this cease and desist letter or else” attack that actually got Public Citizen involved. You can read about it here:
http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2007/10/dont-publish-th.html
The lawyer actually tried to claim the cease and desist letter itself was copyrighted and the recipient would be in violation of copyright law should they post the letter on their website. Comical.
Michael Beck’s last blog post..Kicking the Warcrack habit; Back to Ubuntu
on March 8, 2008 at 7:31 pm
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Good points Michael: If the person is in the public eye, they are fair game to criticism, ridicule and scrutiny as long as the author of such comments does not cross the boundary into libel.
I think the interesting thing about the law is that there seems to be an asterisk next to everything…you can never be too careful.
I ‘plead the 5th’ on lawyer comments, lol…funny about the letter though.