Libel

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A federal judge has dismissed a libel lawsuit filed against best-selling author John Grisham and two other writers over books they wrote about the wrongful conviction of two men in a 1982 murder. The lawsuit was filed last year by former Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson, former [...]

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a libel lawsuit against best-selling author John Grisham over a nonfiction book he wrote about the 1982 killing of an Ada cocktail waitress, calling the petition's claims "not plausible.”The lawsuit was filed last year by former Pontotoc County District Attorney William Peterson, former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigator Gary Rogers and Mel

Jakarta Police questioned a mailing list moderator on libel charges filed by member of the House of Representatives from the National Mandate Party (PAN), Alvin Lie, for a publication on the mailing list.Agus Hamonangan moderator on Forum Pembaca Kompas mailing list were summoned by the Cyber Crime Special Crime Directorate at the Jakarta Police headquarters for the publication of “Hoyak Tabuik

N.B. - This is a position paper I submitted to the House of Representatives Committee on Revision of Laws which is scheduled to conduct a public hearing today (August 6, 9:30 am) on House Bill No. 3535 which seeks to decriminalize libel. The full text of the bill follows. I apologize in advance if a previous [...]

This from the Boston Globe; Backstory from KSN&C:BURLINGTON, Conn.—An attorney for a high school student who brought a free speech lawsuit against her school district last year said he now plans to file a libel lawsuit against the principal.Jon Schoenhorn, a Hartford attorney representing Avery Doninger, said he has served notice to Lewis S. Mills High School Principal Karissa Niehoff of the

 As many of you know, United Yacht Sales has been the victim of Internet defamation, libel, slander and identity theft by a person on a vendetta against a falsified wrongdoing.  The wrongdoing against our business and our brokers is so egregious that we filed suit against Robert Krutko of Columbus, Ohio for his actions.  To restate [...]

An alternative remedy to the libel courts suggested by lawyer to the stars Anthony Julius There is a pretty comprehensive summary of the recent Policy Exchange conference on Libel Tourism over at Harry's Place. I'd forgotten about this imaginative suggestion from Anthony Julius of Mischon de Reya: "Julius added mischievously that occasionally he is consulted by predatory fabulously wealthy clients

The centre-right think tank Policy Exchange hosted a fascinating discussion on the UK's libel lawsI went yesterday lunchtime to hear New York state asssemblyman Rory Lancman talk about the Libel Terrorism Protection Bill at Policy Exchange. He is concerned that rich individuals are able to use the British courts to sue American authors even when only a few books have been sold in the UK. He used t

Jeff Jarvis is a director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York and a MediaGuardian columnist. He blogs at Buzzmachine and has written an excellent piece about the UK's awful libel laws, which David Cameron or Nick Clegg could win brownie points from the media by repealing, except they are too handy for our political class.

In this day and age and in a society like what we see in the land of cheats where perversion is the norm Libel & Prostitution in Gloria Arroyo's Fiefdom is like an inseparable Siamese twins. Prostituting a public office for political gains to silence their political enemies perceived or otherwise seems to be the norm nowadays in Gloria Macapagal... Philippine political & social events as seen fr

[1]Ozzy Osbourne has accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages over a newspaper claim that he threw the Brit Awards into chaos after he suffered a health scare.  The damages will be donated to his wife's charity - the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program. The 59-year-old Black Sabbath frontman did not attend London's High Court today for the settlement.  Express Newspapers

According to BBC News, OZZY OSBOURNE has accepted libel damages from the Daily Star over allegations he suffered a health scare which jeopardised the Brit Awards. The star, who co-hosted the ceremony with wife Sharon and children Kelly and Jack in February, was not at London's High Court for the settlement. The 59-year-old will donate the undisclosed award to his wife's colon cancer charity. The a

Today there was good news on freedom of speech front, as the Wall Street Journal won a complete victory in a libel case involving terror finance issues. The lead reporter, the venerable Glenn Simpson, is now 4-0 since 9/11 in these types of cases. While the victory is a testament to his tenacity and care, it is also a testament to the courage of the WSJ in willing to fight and win these cases. Mos

GMTV presenter Kate Garraway has won libel damages for an undisclosed amount. Garraway took MGN to court after the Sunday Mirror and the Daily Mirror printed allegations that she betrayed her husband. The papers alleged that she was having an affair with Anton Du Beke her Strictly Come Dancing partner. Rachel Atkins, Kate’s solicitor told the [...]

Raja Petra Kamaruddin and his Malaysia Today blog are extraordinary. I can see that hundreds of people have left comments on his blog voicing support and some even had pledged donations to help him.Incredible!I guess it is quite easy to be popular in the online Malaysian world. All you need to do is create a blog and do the following:Bang on UMNO and Barisan NasionalBang on Islam, PAS, Muslims & MalaysRight, fellas? You think we Muslims don’t know what the online world is used for by you people? :-)Well, bloggers have to remember one thing though. Anybody can bang somebody in the online world but we have to remember that those we banged can bang us back as well!Wait a minute; I just created a new tongue twister. :-)Tags: malaysia kini, malaysiakini, malaysiatoday, malaysia election,

Passover is coming and there are still people in Russia who believe the holiday is a time when Jews wander around at night stealing innocent Christian children they can kill in order to get blood which is used to make matzah. Dozens of posters have appeared in the Siberian city of Novosibirst which say: [...]

An age-old trick is to delude and distract - to attack a person and try to assassinate his or her character so as to avert serious and hard-hitting criticism. This ploy has been systematically applied by defenders of Sathya Sai Baba against former devotees who had to become critics, to try to confuse the record: [...]

Filipina actress Clauding Baretto was charged of Libel and Perjury by her former personal assistant. Before that the pinay actress Claudine filed a complaint to her personal assistant for qualified theft last January because of Claudine's personal belongings were stolen worth 300,000 pesos and important documents. But this was not true according to her personal assistant and there were no things stolen.Medias waiting to hear the side of pinay actress.

weird factsDUBLIN, Ireland - The decision was bound to leave a bad taste in somebody's mouth.In this case it's the owner of Belfast pizzeria whose unprecedented libel verdict has been overturned by a Northern Ireland appeals court.Owner Ciaran Convery successfully sued a Belfast newspaper over a review that deemed his Goodfellas restaurant smoky, sloppy and unappetizing.But Northern Ireland Chief Justice Brian Kerr ruled that a Belfast jury erred in law last year when it awarded Convery $50,000 in damages.Kerr said the jury failed to consider whether the reviewer demonstrated malice, and would have been likely to rule in the newspaper's favour if the original trial judge had instructed them correctly.Noel Doran, editors of the Irish News newspaper, said the original verdict threatened the

I never thought that 2008 would start off so busy. I can hardly remember a weekend I spent at home since January 1. Last Saturday was packed: I have different appointments in the morning, afternoon and evening. It didn’t help either that I worked until 7 in the morning. But with a couple of hours [...]

United Yacht Sales has come under repeated attacks on the Internet for the past several months by Robert Krutko of Columbus Ohio.  Krutko initially called for several investigations by different government agencies to investigate United Yacht Sales, Peter Schmidt ( CEO ), several brokers, a hotel/marina and an attorney representing the marina. Krutko owned a [...]

Because of what some would call a loophole in the British legal system, although I prefer to call it a flaw, individuals from any country in the world are allowed to sue anyone else for libel in a British court. This is true even in cases that do not involve British citizens or in which the allegedly libelous statements were made in books, newspapers or magazines never published or sold in the

OKLAHOMA CITY – Author John Grisham is asking an Oklahoma federal court to dismiss a libel lawsuit filed against him by Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson and others over their depiction in Grisham’s nonfiction best-seller "The Innocent Man", about the prosecution of Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson for the 1982 murder of Debra Sue Carter. The Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson is the prosecutor who sent Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson, 2 innocent men to prison for 12 years with no real evidence against them. The real killer Glen Gore, was the prosecution's key witness. Other defendants in the case: Author Dennis Fritz ,who tells his story of his unwarranted prosecution and wrongful conviction his book "Journey Toward Justice". Barry Scheck, one of Fritz’s lawyers who helped exonerate him in 1999, and a co-author of “Actual Innocence,” that discusses the case of Williamson and Fritz.Robert Mayer, author of “The Dreams of Ada.” - Mayer’s book di

The al Durah blood libelWednesday,14th November 2007 I am in Paris where I have attended the Court of Appeal special session called to witness the 27 minutes of hitherto unseen footage of the ‘killing’ of Mohammed al Durah which the court had required France 2 to produce. For readers who are unfamiliar with this scandal, I wrote about it here, here and here. Suffice it to say here that the iconic image of the child Mohammed al Durah, pictured crouching with his father behind a barrel next to a concrete wall in anapparently vain attempt to shelter from the gun-battle between Israel and thePalestinians that was raging around them before he was allegedly shot dead bythe Israelis, served to incite terrorist violence and atrocities around theworld after it was transmitted by France 2 at the beginning of the secondintifada. Yet it is clear to anyone looking at this in detail that the wholething was staged, not least from the devastating evidence here which shows the boyraising his arm an

Melanie Phillips went to Paris to witness the court hearing in which the footage was finally produced for everyone to see regarding Mohammed al-Durah. Well, almost all the footage. What Charles Enderlin and his cameraman had to offer was 18 minutes of footage out of 27. If so, it wouldn't surprise me if they were trying to cover anything up, and still do what they could to avoid admittance of

When I started this blog I decided to write in the open using my real name (if you follow the links in the “about” section you can find my full name.)  I did so for a number of reasons. First and most importantly, I feel it acts as a self-regulating mechanism against going overboard and spinning personal attacks and vitriol.  We all have some nasty sentiments that flash in our minds on occasion.  What better way to air them out and avoid the usual societal censuring than to blog under the cloak of anonymity. The inherently passionate and competitive aspect of professional sports and the fans that devote their time and energy to the various games and dramas make it even more tempting to bash teams and players you dislike. No doubt it can be a liberating feeling to unload on others under the guise of dissecting recent games and the on-ice character of certain players.  If you write decently, can spin an original insult and are persistent, you will attract a core of reader

Seven Locks Press in Santa Ana is small-time, publishing about 25 titles a year. But it has joined big boys Doubleday and Random House, as well as author John Grisham and defense attorney Barry Scheck, as defendants in a defamation lawsuit involving the justice – or rather the in justice – system in the small town of Ada, Okla. The lawsuit is one of the best things that's ever happened to Seven Locks and its owner, Jim Riordan. "Quite frankly, when I get to put my name next to Grisham and Random House – I'll take that any day," says Riordan, who I met a few years ago when he was working with Deacon Jones on a charity fundraiser. At the center of the lawsuit is an Oklahoma prosecutor by the name of William N. Peterson. He got murder convictions on two men who did 12 years in prison before they were cleared by DNA evidence. He also got questionable convictions on two other men in a separate murder case. They are still in prison. The cases spawned three books: "The Dreams of Ada"

A victory for free speech in America (Hat tip: Hot Air):(WASHINGTON) — Yesterday, KinderUSA and Dr. Laila Al-Marayati dismissed with prejudice their libel suit, recently filed in California, against The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, its senior fellow Dr. Matthew Levitt, and Yale University Press. The suit involved passages contained in Dr. Levitt’s critically acclaimed and carefully researched book Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, published by Yale University Press.In addition to dismissing its lawsuit, the plaintiffs released all their claims based on Dr. Levitt’s book. Dr. Levitt, The Washington Institute, and Yale University Press are not obligated to make any changes to Hamas, they are not limited in what they can write in the future, and they have not offered or given any compensation — monetary or otherwise, now or in the future — to plaintiffs for their dismissal of the suit.“We view this early, voluntary, and full dismiss

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday reported ousted deputy parliament chairman Zainal Maarif to the police for libel.Under the Indonesian system, police will process the report and if they find enough initial evidence will formally investigate the case with a view to preparing documents necessary for an indictment in court."I came myself because I am here more in my private capacity as an Indonesian citizen and not as a president," Yudhoyono told journalists shortly after filing his report against Maarif at Jakarta police headquarters.Yudhoyono, who was accompanied by his wife Kristiani, filed his complaint to a police officer in charge of receiving complaints from the public, although Jakarta police chief Adang Firman was also present.The president said he was "a victim of libel and untrue reports".Yudhoyono gave approval to Maarif's party, the Reform Star Party, to pull him from parliament on July 26.Maarif has since made accusations against the head of state and

TWO British National Party members have suffered a landmark defeat in their fight for libel damages from a magazine. Former London mayoral candidate Christopher Roberts, of St Mary's Drive, Benfleet, and his brother Barry argued they were defamed by a 2003 article in the monthly Searchlight publication. The piece, written by Gerry Gable, appeared in the News from the Sewers column, and reported allegations the Roberts brothers, who have both stood for Parliament, had threatened "to kneecap, torture and kill" various people after a bust-up within the BNP. He also alleged Christopher Roberts had stolen cash after a party rally. The brothers vehemently denied there was any truth to the allegations, which were first aired by other BNP members, and argued they were defamatory. They also said the article not only repeated untrue allegations, but "embellished" them as well. But, at the High Court last year, Justice Eady ruled Searchlight had a defence of "qualified privilege", as the article

Pirates of the Carribbean actress Keira Knightley has been offered - and accepted - libel damages of £3,000 from the Daily Mail newspaper in proceedings following an article which claimed she had an eating disorder. A picture in the newspaper of Knightley appeared with the headline “If pictures like this one of Keira carried a health [...]

Actress Cameron Diaz sued publishers American Media Inc over a story and pictures that appeared on American media Inc owned National Enquirer website in may 2005. Diaz has accepted substantial damages from them for the claims that she was having an affair with married MTV producer Shane Nickerson. The story and photos claimed Diaz was cheating on her then boyfriend Justine Timberlake with a married TV producer. The national Enquirer has apologised and accepted the story as untrue. The magazine also apologised for any distress caused to Diaz, Timberlake, Nickerson and his wife.

Generally speaking it’s safe to assume that the longer you have an electronics device the less likely it is to malfunction. That’s what I’ve been told at least. There are many, many, many people out there who claim this is the case. These same people tend to tell you that extended warranties are a “rip-off.” Enter a post on Engaget today. If your TV or Digital Camera is going to die, they claim, it will happen after the extended warranty expires. Bullshit. In my experience, and I have plenty of experience with personal electronics, gadgets tend to go out right after the manufacturer’s warranty expires. I’ve seen it happen with PCs, Digital Cameras and even Game Consoles. My XBox360, as I’ve said before, died just shortly after Microsoft’s warranty expired. I’m gonna go ahead and point to one big reason why extended warranties, especially on next-gen consoles, are important: bricked 360s. Since the release of the XBox360 c

Yahoo! News: AARHUS, Denmark (Reuters) - A court ruled on Thursday that a Danish newspaper did not libel Muslims by printing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that unleashed a storm of protests in the Islamic world. Seven Danish Muslim organisations brought the case, saying the paper had libelled them with the images, which included one depicting the Prophet with a bomb in his turban, by implying Muslims were terrorists. Jyllands-Posten, which published the 12 drawings in September last year, hailed the ruling, saying any other outcome would have been a catastrophe for a free press.