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Growing from Our Strengths
Prominent Media and First Amendment Lawyers Join DWT LLP We recently had the honor of adding four exceptionally strong attorneys to our practice, joining us from Levine Sullivan Koch & Schultz, LLP (LSKS): Nathan
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The Giboney Resurrection: A Civil Practitioner Considers the “Speech Integral to Criminal Conduct” Exception
Where does free speech end and crime begin? This is an old legal question in American law; it stretches back to the beginnings of the republic, and even earlier. Crown v. John Peter Zenger
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New York’s Appellate Court Reaffirms Broad Scope of Shield Law Protects Niche Publication from Forced Disclosure of Confidential Sources
In a victory for newsgathering, a New York appellate court struck down an order compelling Reorg Research Inc., a niche publication covering the distressed-debt and leveraged finance markets, to disclose the names of confidential
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Documentary Interviewee Hit with Sanctions for Making False Allegations Against Center for Investigative Reporting
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The 2015 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Changing the Way Civil Litigants Operate in Federal Court
By Karen A. Henry and Diana Palacios The recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are the most significant overhaul of the rules governing civil litigation in federal court that we’ve seen
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Transformative Use of Notorious Dictator’s Name and Likeness in Video Game is Protected Speech
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The Right to be Forgotten or Not Exposed
By Elizabeth McNamara and Samuel M. Bayard The ubiquitous and permanent availability of damning information on the Internet has been the source of countless news articles. Stories in the press commonly relate cautionary
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California Supreme Court Holds Names of Officers in Police Shootings Should Be Disclosed
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New York Decision Protects Author’s Speculation on Paternity as Opinion Based on Disclosed Facts — Oleniak v. Slaton
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Drone Journalism: It’s in the Air. But Will the Media and FAA Be Ready for Take-Off in 2015?
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Blurred Lines: 9th Circuit Applies Same First Amendment Protections to Bloggers as Traditional Media
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Supreme Court Reiterates that New York Times Actual Malice Standard Requires Materially False Statements
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9th Circuit Declines to Reconsider Applicability of Anti-SLAPP Statute in Federal Court
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6th Circuit Rules That TripAdvisor’s Ranking of “Dirtiest Hotels” Is Protected Opinion
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The D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act at Two Years Old: Erie Issues and Interlocutory Appeal Take Center Stage
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Court Rules Pentagon Cannot Withhold Names of U.S. Army School of the Americas Graduates
By Duffy Carolan and Jeff Glasser On April 22, 2013, the United States District Court, Northern District of California (Hon. Phyllis J. Hamilton) granted summary judgment against the Pentagon in an important Freedom of Information
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Washington State Enacts Uniform Correction and Clarification Law
Photo: Rachel La Corte, Associated Press By Bruce E. H. Johnson, Ambika Doran, and Sarah K. Duran On May 20, 2013, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law ESB 5236, a version of the
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Lawsuit Helps End Speech Restrictions Outside California Library
By Mark Fefer As a result of a lawsuit pursued by DWT on behalf of the ACLU of Northern California, the city council of Redding, Calif., agreed to withdraw speech limitations it had imposed
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Media Companies Successfully Fight for Access to Information About Church Officials’ Role in Priest Sex Scandal
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Federal Court Enjoins Enforcement of Washington State Law Targeting Adult-Oriented Advertisements
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Convictions Overturned in Oregon Pro Bono Speech Case
By Mark Fefer In a victory at the State Court of Appeals, a DWT team from Portland succeeded in overturning the conviction of several anti-war protestors who had been arrested for trespassing on the
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7th Circuit Affirms Early Dismissal Based on Fair Use in “South Park” Parody Case
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Court of Appeals Strikes Down Communications Act Ban on Political and Issue Advertising on Noncommercial Broadcasting Stations
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Emphasizing Interactivity, Court Rules that First Amendment Defeats Right of Publicity Claims Targeting EA’s NCAA Football Video Games
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Supreme Court Invalidates Vermont Law Limiting Data Mining for Pharmaceutical “Detailing”
By Robert Corn-Revere and Ronald G. London The Supreme Court’s June 23, 2011 decision in Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. upheld the important First Amendment principle that the government cannot restrict commercial speech on
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First Amendment Defeats Right of Publicity Claims Against Electronic Arts’ NCAA Football Video Games
By Elizabeth A. McNamara, Christopher J. Robinson, and Samuel M. Bayard On Sept. 9, 2011, Judge Freda Wolfson of the United States District Court for the district of New Jersey issued a 67 page
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Supreme Court Affirms Invalidation of California Restrictions on Violent Video Games
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Ninth Circuit Revives California Idea Submission Claims
The reality is that producers do not assume that they have entered into a contract with every person that pitches an idea to them or sends them unsolicited material.
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