One of the websites I check often is California Anti-SLAPP Project ("CASP"). CASP was founded in 1991 and has been instrumental in shaping California's anti-SLAPP statute. To put this statement in perspective, California was the first state to enact a so-called anti-SLAPP statute. Now nearly thirty states have such a statute. CASP was also involved in advancing AB2433, a new civil discovery law, which is very protective of online speech.
Now CASP is leading an effort to enact Federal Anti-SLAPP Legislation. A previous coalition of supporters attempted to do the same in 1995, but were ultimately unsuccessful. If the proposed legislation is enacted, it could have a dramatic impact on how defamation cases would be decided at the federal level.
I look forward to reviewing the proposed legislation when it is completed.
[Editors note: a previous version of this post stated that a draft had been completed and was posted on CASP's website. In actuality, the bill that is posted on CASP's website was supported in 1995 but failed for various reasons. The subject of this post is a yet to be drafted piece of legislation.]
California Bill Aimed At Curbing Libel Tourism
The California legislature is jumping on the governmental bandwagon to reduce libel tourism with Senate Bill 320. Related Articles: New Libel Bill Introduced In The House Of Representatives Proposed Federal Anti-SLAPP Legislation…
The text of the proposed Citizen Participation in Government and Society Act, which Steve Cohen (D-TN) plans to introduce in September, can be found at http://www.anti-slapp.org under Proposed Legislation.