Shot in the Dark

Tag: Defamation Law

  • Casting Immunity Before Swine

    A lawsuit against an Oregon blogger has prevailed, at least for now… ​A U.S. District Court judge in Portland has drawn a line in the sand between “journalist” and “blogger.” And for Crystal Cox, a woman on the latter end of that comparison, the distinction has cost her $2.5 million. Speaking to Seattle Weekly, Cox says…

  • Apropos Not Much, Part VII

    So in my series on Defamation law so far, I’ve focused on the elements of the defamation case. But what if you’re accused of defamation?  How do you defend yourself against a defamation suit? As you may have figured out from an earlier installment, the best way is to prove that what you said is true……

  • Apropos Not Much, Part VI

    For the past week that I’ve been writing this series on defamation law in Minnesota, I’ve been focusing on the letter and spirit (as captured in case law) of the law. Today, I’m going to go down a tangent, and talk about the mechanics of the law – specifically, how legal records work. Or, rather,…

  • Apropos Not Much, Part V

    Since I started this series a couple of weeks back, we’ve enjoyed a fascinating journey of learning – in this case, about what “defamation” – libel and slander – really really mean. Here’s an interesting bit; as we noted yesterday, “false” can mean either “what the defendant said is false”, or “the defendant, with reasonable…

  • Apropos Not Much, Part IV

    In the first couple parts of this series – admittedly something I’m writing out of pure unvarnished serendipity – I noted that Minnesota recognizes “defemation” when someone says something false and defamatory about someone, to someone else. Today, we move on to the definition of “false”.  From this very useful site, which has been my source…

  • Apropos Not Much, Part III

    I’m just fascinated by the conversation with myself I started about a month ago, about how Defamation law works in  Minnesota. Today – via this very helpful site – I’ll move on to the second element of a defamation case; there’s gotta be a third party: B. The Statement was published to third persons Defamatory statements must…

  • Apropos Not Much, Part II

    As I noted in a post about a month ago, I occasionally take off on flights of knowledge-seeking fancy. Last month, it was over the subject of “Defamation” – the catchall term for what used to be called “Libel” and “Slander”, back when “old media” was the human voice and “new media” was the printing…

  • Apropos Not Much

    I’m kind of a nut, sometimes. I mean that in a benign way.  My occasional little bout of unusualness usually expresses itself in very, very benign ways.  I sing in the car.  I make up languages, and then talk to myself in them (don’t judge). And I sometimes decide, out of the clear, blue sky,…