It's time for the Popehat Signal. I'm looking for attorneys admitted in Massachusetts to represent both named and anonymous online commenters. They've been sued by a man named Jonathan Graves Monsarrat based on a series of LiveJournal posts and comments.

Monsaratt's lawsuit is here. You can see LiveJournal threads talking about the lawsuit here and here.

The lawsuit targets posts and comments about Monsarrat's January 2010 arrest. Various sources reported that police arrested Monsarrat when they found him at a loud Somerville party that featured (gasp) underaged drinking. The charges against Monsarrat were later dismissed. Monsarrat was already known locally. Some of his fame was benign — he ran a whimsical message board called the "Wheel of Questions" where people could leave notes and have them answered. Some of his fame, on the other hand, was not positive. In 2003 the MIT and Harvard student papers reported complaints by participants in a Harvard-MIT-Wellesley matchup program he created and operated; participants asserted that Monsarrat chose people he wanted to meet from the matchup he was running and persistently contacted them in a way they found harassing. He was quoted thus:

Monsarrat, who also participated in the matchup service, said that he had heard of complaints about his personal use of data from the service, but said “I kind of don’t get that. I signed up like everybody else. There was no privacy policy.”

These reports led to a certain amount of internet infamy, including an unflattering entry on Encyclopedia Dramatica.¹ Monsarrat filed a DMCA notice against Encylcopedia Dramatica seeking to remove among other things, pictures of him they posted in the course of ridiculing him.

When Monsarrat's arrest broke in 2010, people began writing about it, and him, and his past, on LiveJournal. People writing about it referred to past stories about him in connection with the matchup incident, and other critiques of him. As is common online, many criticisms were vivid and accusatory and hyperbolic. That's the basis of Monsarrat's suit against two named defendants (a blogger and a poster on LiveJournal) and multiple anonymous commenters.

Monsarrat's complaint cites some statements made about him which, if untrue, could be defamatory. So why do I think this case is worthy of the Popehat Signal? It's because the complaint is overtly censorious and abusive of the legal process in multiple ways.

First, the complaint jumbles allegedly false statements of fact together with clear statements of opinion and insulting rhetoric. The former can be defamatory; the latter is protected by the First Amendment.

Second, the complaint jumbles together numerous defendants and suggests that they are all jointly responsible for each others' words. But under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act content providers — like bloggers — can't be held liable for the words of their commenters. Moreover, Monsarrat's conspiracy theory appears to be a method to target people for protected speech (like insults or statements of opinion) on the theory that the protected speech was connected to non-protected speech (like false accusations of fact). Practically speaking, that theory means if you post an insult or opinion about someone in a thread that also contains a false statement by someone else, you could be sued for conspiracy to defame. The chilling effects are obvious.

Third, the complaint suggests that bloggers, and commenters, cannot report and comment based on stories published in newspapers. There can't be any dispute that a local paper reported on Monsarrat's arrest and that student papers reported on the matchup incident. Misstating what's in those articles can be defamatory, but suing people for repeating what was published in the paper — without any basis for asserting they knew it was false — seems overtly censorious, and faces substantial legal barriers.

Fourth, Monsarrat cites some commenters merely for linking to other sites, like Encyclopedia Dramatica and the Harvard student paper. But there is — thankfully — an emerging legal consensus that linking to content does not constitute republication of that content for defamation purposes.

Fifth, for some reason, it appears that Monsarrat has waited to the very ragged edge (if not beyond) of Massachusetts' three-year statute of limitations for defamation actions. That does not support the assertion that he was actually harmed; it appears tactical.

Sixth, Monsarrat's non-defamation causes of action appear highly dubious. His "common law copyright" claim is based on uses of content that are clearly intended to critique or satirize. His commercial claims seem to rely on the highly dubious proposition that the defendants were involved in commercial activity. In short, the other claims appear to be a kitchen-sink approach. And, of course, there's Butthurt In the First Degree, also known as Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.

The Streisand Effect may yield results that Monsarrat will regret. He needs to prove that the things said about him are untrue. A lawsuit like this seems designed to generate widespread publicity and encourage any witnesses that might support the defendants to come forward.

The complaint is highly vulnerable to attack. The named defendants need legal help. One of them — Ron Newman — helps maintain a LiveJournal community. Like many Americans, he's out of work, and like almost all Americans, he'd find it impossible to fund the defense of a lawsuit. Lawsuits are ruinously expensive to most folks — which is exactly why merely the threat of a defamation suit can silence people, and why plaintiffs can abuse the legal system to chill expression.

Someone may have uttered false and genuinely defamatory words against Monsarrat; I don't know. I do know that defamation cases — particularly ones where the plaintiff is pursuing extravagant legal theories that threaten everyone's speech — are best resolved with vigorous and capable counsel on both sides. Here Monsarrat's complaint, whatever elements of merit it might have, is framed in a way that should be of grave concern to anyone who values freedom of expression and opposes legal bullying.

So: if you are a Massachusetts lawyer, please consider helping the named defendants. I suspect that First Amendment lawyers across the country will be willing to offer support and advice. In addition, the anonymous commenters require counsel to help them oppose discovery calculated to pierce their anonymity.

Thanks, as always, for standing up to defend free speech.

It's time for the Popehat Signal: a call for lawyers and citizens to assist a litigant in standing up against unprincipled censorship.

My friend and colleague Paul Alan Levy of Public Citizen — fresh off a free speech victory against the infamous Charles Carreon — has asked for assistance in Medina County, Ohio. This is a classic case where pro bono assistance can help thwart an unprincipled and censorious plaintiff's manipulation of the flaws in our judicial system.

The plaintiff in question is Med Express, a company that sells refurbished medical equipment on Ebay. They have sued Ebay and a South Carolina resident named Amy Nicholls. I will let Med Express' complaint speak for itself:

6. On February 12, lOB, Nicholls paid for the item and shipping via Pay Pal. Promptly after receiving Nicholls' payment, Med Express took the equipment to the Valley City post office. where it was weighed and shipped to Nicholls. Med Express paid the full amount of the shipping cost, but for some reason unknown to Med Express, the equipment was received by Nichols with $1.44 postage due.

7. When notified of the problem, Med Express immediately offered to reimburse Nicholls for the postage due amount. Despite this offer, and before giving Med Express a chance to reimburse her, Nicholls on February 26, 2013, apparently as a result of the $1.44 postage due, posted negative feedback and comments for the transaction on Ebay's website and gave Med Express low ratings in the Detailed Seller Ratings section of Ebay's Feedback Forum, resulting in an unfavorable feedback profile for Med Express. In so doing, Nicholls falsely and deliberately slandered the good name and reputation of Med Express.

You read that right — Med Express admits that Nicholls received a package from them postage due, and is suing her for complaining about it, suggesting that she should have just taken reimbursement and shut up. Med Express is seeking damages and an injunction forcing the removal of Nicholls' feedback. That feedback was, by Med Express' own description, true:

Order arrived with postage due with no communication from seller beforehand.

When Mr. Levy pointed out to James Amodio, attorney for Med Express, that true statements are protected by the First Amendment, Mr. Amodio responded with an open, contemptuous, and contemptible threat to abuse the legal system:

I contacted James Amodio, Med Express’s lawyer, to explain to him the many ways in which his lawsuit is untenable. He readily admitted that, as the complaint admits, everything that the customer had posted in her feedback was true; he did not deny that a statement has to be false to be actionable as defamation; but he just plain didn’t care. To the contrary, he told me that I could come up to Medina, Ohio, and argue whatever I might like, but that the case was going to continue unless the feedback was taken down or changed to positive. And he explained why his client was insisting on this change — he said that it sells exclusively over eBay, where a sufficient level of negative feedback can increase the cost of such sales as well as possibly driving away customers.

This is the ugly truth of the legal system: litigants and lawyers can manipulate it to impose huge expense on defendants no matter what the merits of their complaint. Censors can abuse the system to make true speech so expensive and risky that citizens will be silenced. Regrettably, Ohio does not have an anti-SLAPP statute, so Med Express and James Amodio can behave in this matter with relative impunity. If Ms. Nicholls has to incur ruinous legal expenses to vindicate her rights, the bad guys win, whatever the ultimate outcome of the case.

Unless, that is, you will help Amy Nicholls stand up — not for $1.44, but for the freedom to speak the truth without being abused by a broken legal system.

If you are an attorney practicing in Medina County, Ohio, please consider offering pro bono assistance. Mr. Levy will be coordinating assistance, and I can tell you from personal experience that it is a privilege to work with him. Help give Med Express and James Amodio the legal curb-stomping they so richly deserve. Justice, karma, and the esteem of free speech supporters everywhere will be your reward.

If you aren't an attorney, you can help, too. Med Express should not be permitted to act in this manner without consequence. The natural and probable consequence is widespread publication of their conduct. Help by publicizing the case on Facebook, Twitter, on your blog, on forums, and on every other venue available to you. Ask yourself — would you want to do business with a company that abuses the legal system to extract revenge against customers who leave truthful negative feedback?

Stand up for free speech.

Thanks.

Edited to add: "Med Express" is a mundane name; make sure you refer to and link to the correct one — this one, med_express_sales.

Edited again to add: Thanks to Prof. Reynolds of Instapundit for the link to this. It's possible Med Express didn't think this plan all the way through.

UPDATE WITH AWESOMENESS: I offer my profound respect and appreciation to Jeffrey M. Nye and Thomas G. Haren, who have answered the call. If their names sound familiar, it may be because they stepped up and represented a blogger pro bono just a few months ago. I understand that they will be stepping in to assist Ms. Nicholls pro bono. Moreover, I understand that multiple attorneys are now investigating whether Med Express has filed other defamation suits to silence negative feedback. I'll report when I hear more.

I've said this before: free speech depends on people like Jeff and Tom. Anti-SLAPP statutes are slowly proliferating across the country and more people are becoming educated about First Amendment rights. Ultimately, though, our broken legal system allows bullies to extort silence through the credible threat of stressful, expensive, uncertain litigation even when they have no valid claim. It takes lawyers like Jeff and Tom — and like a number of other good people who wrote me in response to the Popehat Signal — to push back against that problem. I'm just sitting on my ass blogging; Jeff and Tom are putting their skills and many hours of their valuable time on the line during a bad economy. I salute them, and if I ever have to recommend lawyers in Ohio, they will be at the top of my list.

It's time for the Popehat signal!

Someone needs your help.

That someone is a blogger in Vermont. The blogger writes critically about an industry that — without exaggeration — is universally loathed, and with reason. He attempts to expose criminal conduct by companies operating in this inadequately regulated industry.

Recently he wrote about one particular company in the industry, setting forth evidence and documentation about their conduct. The company sent a threatening (if kind of eighth-grade-level) message through his blog, attempting falsely to tie him to a racist organization.

Later, he learned that a private investigator was talking to his friends, associates, and co-workers, and suggesting that he is associated with this racist organization. He is not.

The purpose of the private investigator is clear: to harass and intimidate the blogger into refraining from writing about this company and its operation within this justifiably despised and frequently criminal industry.

Here's what I am looking for:

1. First Amendment counsel in Vermont, in case he is pursued legally there.

2. Counsel in Vermont who might be willing to consult on a potential slander case against the private investigator and his employers. Telling people that the blogger is affiliated with a racist organization in an effort to silence him is not protected speech.

3. Anyone with a familiarity with the private investigator licensing authorities in Vermont, who might have ideas about addressing the issue.

4. People with computer forensic ability to help trace communications.

Yes, this post is very vague. That's to avoid tipping the bad guys off — for now. Sooner or later you'll hear more. If more than 1% of you disagree with my characterization of this industry I'll cut off my left nut with a spork.

As always, protecting bloggers from legal and extralegal harassment based on their First Amendment activity requires people to be generous with their time. The Popehat Signal rarely lets me down. You all rock. Please spread the work.

It's time to light up the Popehat Signal and seek legal help for an author wrongfully threatened by a large company.

I first wrote about this situation in December. MCA Hogarth is a science fiction writer; she wrote a book called "Spots the Space Marine." Venerable gaming titan Games Workshop is claiming that it has a trademark in the term "Space Marine" that extends not just to games (like its well-known Warhammer 40,000) but to any use of "Space Marine" in science fiction. Never mind that the term has been in wide use in science fiction for many decades.

Hogarth, a self-published author, is finding Amazon.com unsympathetic to her arguments about Games Workshop's thuggish and meretricious claims, and is finding the cost of hiring trademark counsel an insurmountable barrier. (Edit: here's a mirror if her site gets slammed.) That's exactly the effect that 800-pound-gorillas like Games Workshop hope for when they make spurious claims — not that they'd win a protracted legal battle, but that their opponents lack the funds to fight, and that vendors like Amazon will defer to them.

As I have said before, I am always heartened by the response to the Popehat Signal. It's rare that it doesn't produce suitable pro bono counsel. So: this time, I'm hoping there is a trademark attorney out there — maybe a geeky one with the heart of a gamer, like me — willing to help Hogarth pro bono. Even advice and negotiation would be helpful, I bet. I would do whatever I can to coordinate support and backup for such a lawyer. As always, offers of help from lawyers in other fields, paralegals, tech experts, and other professionals is welcomed and helpful.

But that's not all.

I know you are out there, gamers and science fiction readers. Even if you're not an attorney, you can help. You can help by sending an email (edit: in the comments, Patrick offers the email to use) to Games Workshop telling them you won't buy their products while they engage in meritless trademark bullying. (Edit: or communicate with them by their Twitter account, https://twitter.com/VoxCaster.) You can help by spreading this story — and getting others involved — on every gaming and science fiction blog and board and forum out there. Inflict upon Games Workshop the consequences of their actions.

As always, thanks.

(And thanks to the dozens of people who emailed or tweeted me about this.)

In early November I put up the Popehat Signal seeking help for a blogger and anonymous commenters sued in connection with their statements about a rape case in Ohio. Many people figured out that I was talking about a rape prosecution involving members of a high school football team in Steubenville, Ohio, and a defamation suit brought by a teen named Cody Saltzman and his parents. The rape case, the defamation case, and the controversy surrounding them have now been covered in the New York Times.

I'm happy to report a good result made possible by the contributions of dedicated lawyers.

Alexandria Goddard, who blogs at Prinnified and was the lead defendant in the defamation case, reports that the case has been settled as to all parties and will be dismissed.

On behalf of myself and the John Doe defendants, we are very pleased to announce that the defamation lawsuit filed against us has been dismissed with prejudice. Dismissals with prejudice mean that this case can never be refiled again and this lawsuit is officially over. On December 20th, the plaintiffs approached us about settling this case, and we were quite happy to oblige. Lawsuits are costly and very stressful, and this suit has taken a toll on all involved. As part of the settlement we did not pay any money; we did not agree to retract any statements, nor did we agree to stop covering the case or discussing it.

Goddard offers a clarification that Prinnified never had any information that Saltzman took part in the rape alleged in the criminal case, and Saltzman offers an apology for his repulsive social media coverage of his classmates mauling a drunk child.

This is a tremendous victory for Goddard, for the anonymous commenters, and for free speech values. Congratulations and admiration are due to the following:

Jeffrey M. Nye and Thomas G. Haren were among the first to respond to the Popehat signal and quickly took up Goddard's defense. They were ably assisted by my friend and colleague Marc Randazza, who is familiar around these parts.

Paul Alan Levy of Public Citizen, another Popehat friend, stepped up to assist some of the anonymous commenters sued in the case and quickly secured dismissals against them.

The ACLU of Ohio, through attorney Scott Greenwood, stepped in to assist additional anonymous commenters in the case.

In addition, many additional attorneys and citizens wrote in response to the Popehat Signal offering to help.

A few thoughts and observations:

1. If the purpose of the defamation suit was to protect the reputation of Cody Saltzman and his parents, it was a catastrophic error in judgment. The suit invoked the Streisand Effect in full force and was very likely the catalyst that drew the attention of both the New York Times and (in more troubling fashion) hackers under the Anonymous banner.

2. Ohio doesn't have an anti-SLAPP statute. Nor do many states. Others have woefully deficient anti-SLAPP statutes. Goddard and the commenters here were very fortunate to get swift and highly effective pro bono help, without which they faced lengthy and ruinously expensive litigation. Most defendants in censorious defamation suits are not so fortunate. What can you do? You can lobby for effective anti-SLAPP laws in your state, lobby for a federal anti-SLAPP statute (various versions have been kicking around Congress for years), and help to publicize calls for pro bono counsel in cases like this one. As it stands, in states without effective anti-SLAPP statutes, the legal system does not prevent or deter censorship by lawsuit.

3. The First Amendment protects a very broad range of commentary about the Steubenville rape case and its participants. However, when it comes to government action, the accused — as well as the other young men who were not charged — are entitled to due process of law. Period. They are not less entitled to due process because you're horrified by what they are accused of, or because of allegations that they are being protected by corrupt locals. Supporting due process of law for people accused of despicable crimes is a civic value just as important as supporting freedom of expression for people whose speech infuriates you. Degrading one value tends naturally to degrade the other.

Every time I'm down on humanity, I think of this: whenever I put up the Popehat signal seeking pro bono help for people whose freedom of expression is threatened, I get a wave of responses. I get many from lawyers, even from lawyers in other states offering to help however they can. I get responses from web mavens and technical experts and just plain folks asking if there is any way they can contribute their efforts. I get offers of funding for the defenses.

And it's not just with the Popehat signal. When I write about evil people victimizing innocents, people write in doing their own insightful and skillful investigations into the baddies and seeking to help. When I straight up ask for people to contribute to worthy causes, they do.

For everyone really awful on the internet, there's someone really great on the internet. This helps me get through the day. Thank you.

If you're one of the people who needs help, please keep asking, and I'll keep trying to tap into this network of awesome folks. Sometimes I can't answer immediately, and sometimes I'm a little busy — truth be told I got six different requests for help or advice this week. (The latest — if anyone out there is admitted in Virginia and would be willing to write a pro bono scary response to a very stupid threat letter, please drop me a line.) But keep sending them, because all these people have our backs.

Today I'm putting up the Popehat Signal seeking pro bono assistance for a threatened blogger and anonymous blog commenters.

For the moment, I'm only going to describe the case generally, though I may discuss it later at length. The blog in question reports on local crime stories in Ohio, and in this instance reported on a local prosecution of the rape of an unconscious young woman, allegedly by high school football players. One player was not accused of the rape, but was criticized on the blog based on an allegation that he took pictures of the unconscious young woman but did nothing to stop others from sexually assaulting her. He, and his parents, have now sued the blogger and have named multiple commenters as John Doe defendants and will seek to unmask them.

I've reviewed the complaint, and it appears to me that (1) many of the statements it complains of are archetypical statements of opinion protected under the First Amendment, and (2) that the relief it demands — including prior restraint on publication, removal of existing posts, and a court-mandated retraction and apology — are extremely questionable. Moreover, to the extent the suit attempts to assign liability to the blogger for the words of commenters, it runs afoul of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

The suit has been filed in Jefferson County, Ohio. The blogger needs counsel, and the John Doe defendants may as well — whether individually or as a group to fight attempts to unmask them. This may be a case like the Planet Valenti matter where local power politics play a role.

If you can possibly help, or if you know anyone who can, please drop a line to ken at popehat etc. I will pass information along to the people involved.

Remember: because of the flaws in our legal system, defense of the First Amendment relies upon the vigorous participation of lawyers (and others) willing to lend a hand.

[Confidential to C.B. and C.T.: snookumses, I'm sure you'll be mewling about "why does he attack us but help these people!" One answer, as anyone with a room-temperature IQ will tell you, is that these people aren't engaged in wire fraud and extortion. Thx.]

It's time to put out the Popehat Signal on behalf of a threatened web site.

Today, I'm looking for pro bono help (or help at a modest rate) for the proprietor of a fansite for a band. The proprietor of the fansite has been running it for years, promoting the band and its appearances to its fans. Apparently the members of the band knew of this and were cool with it — until recently, when they hired new management, who used a Los Angeles area attorney to send a threatening cease-and-desist issue.

What band? Well, I'll give you a hint — it led to music that I hate. Okay, no seriously, a real hint: one of the members of the band has had trouble with drugs and alcohol and has had run-ins with law enforcement. OK, I can't give you hints.

Anyway, the fansite proprietor is in Boston and the threatening lawyer is in Los Angeles. It looks like a good IP matter with some fair use issues and some potentially interesting laches and waiver arguments. A good lawyer might be able to back the band's new management and new lawyer off.

If you are interested, leave a comment, or drop an email.

Thanks, as always, for those willing to stand up for free expression on the internet.

Edited to add: Attorney Paul Forsyth has stepped up to offer pro bono services to the threatened fansite. Thanks to our broken system, a chance of real justice in situations like these increasingly depends on the willingness of people like Paul to step up. Paul has my sincere thanks and admiration. It would still be great to find appropriate counsel in California and/or Massachusetts as well, in case the matter winds up in litigation.

[Note: our prior coverage of the Oatmeal v. FunnyJunk debacle is collected in this tag.]

Thanks much to the lawyers, law students, paralegals, technical experts, and others who have previously offered pro bono help to people caught up in Charles Carreon's litigation arising from The Oatmeal v. Funnyjunk perfect storm of internet ridiculousness.

I'm writing today, and throwing up the Popehat Signal, to make a very specific follow-up request. I'm looking for a lawyer admitted in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and preferably working in the Bay Area, to act as pro bono local counsel for someone involved in this case. Lead counsel is a figure of unmitigated awesomeness and consummate qualifications for the case at hand. [Please do not speculate about details in the comments. You'll find out soon enough.]

Drop me an email, please.

First, a disclaimer: since I started offering pro-bono legal help to threatened bloggers, either directly or by seeking local pro-bono counsel in other jurisdictions, the vast majority of people writing to me seeking help have been pleasant and polite. If you've written me, this post most likely isn't about you. (Or, more accurately, if you have the self-awareness to wonder if this post is about you, it almost certainly isn't.)

However, a few people have asked for the Popehat Signal, or more generally for my help, for matters on which I'm not able to help them. I write today to offer a clarification, in hopes of avoiding disappointment and hurt feelings.

I do other sorts of pro bono work at work. But here at Popehat, the core of my pro bono work is helping people respond to legal threats they receive based on things they have written on the internet. The heartland is bloggers threatened with defamation, but it extends to other writings as well. In addition, I've occasionally helped people threatened with bizarre harassment campaigns based on their online activities. At the very least, the matters have had strong First Amendment connections. These are areas relevant to my interests and abilities.

But if your problem is, say, an unjust traffic ticket, or a relative's immigration dispute, or a straightforward trademark lawsuit without censorship elements, I'm probably not going to be able to help you, and I'm probably not going to put up the Popehat Signal for you. That's not because your situation is just — perhaps you're facing grave injustice. But, frankly, I have a job and a family, and I have a limited amount of time to devote to this enterprise. Moreover, though I've always been very pleased at the response I get from the Popehat Signal — there are a lot of stand-up lawyers out there — it works because of its narrow scope. If we start throwing it up there every time someone has a landlord-tenant dispute, nobody's going to read it. Also, I suspect that when people respond, it's because I've build up a certain amount of trust with readers on core free speech issues — in other words, people think that if I care enough to throw up the signal, there must be some there there. But I can't offer that sort of assurance in areas in which I am not personally familiar. Sorry.

Now, I have only very rarely run into Freakish Entitlement Syndrome, which is always a hazard of offering something for free. But it happens. And it irks the living shit out of me, and sometimes puts me off the whole enterprise for a day or two.

All that said, I want my core message to be this: thank you for sending me tips about threatened bloggers and writers. Thank you for responding to, or retweeting or blogging, the Popehat Signal. Y'all rock.

I'm putting up the Popehat Signal. As regular readers know, it usually goes up to seek pro bono help for people threatened with unjust censorship.

Today I need a federal criminal practitioner in the Middle District of Florida, or admitted there and familiar with its courts. I need this person to help and advise a blogger who is being unjustly threatened with criminal consequences for his blogging. I believe, based on what I've seen, that this person is being threatened with criminal consequences because of what he has written about Brett Kimberlin and his crew. That is, of course, completely consistent with what our system allows to happen to people who want to exercise their First Amendment rights regarding Kimberlin and his crew. Because of this person's health, and the state of health care in our prisons, the unjust consequences he faces are quite literally life-threatening.

In connection with the same matter, I also need someone in the Middle District of Tennessee, or at least admitted there and familiar with its courts.

Please do not speculate on the identity of the person. It's not helpful.

Thanks in advance for any help. If you care about the Kimberlin matter, this one is worth it.

I'm looking for someone admitted in Louisiana with expertise in First Amendment issues, specifically defamation defense, to help someone getting a raw deal. Though it would be for a pro bono consult, it might develop into a (modest rate) paid case. Help is appreciated, as always.

The response to this Popehat Signal has been awesome and touching. I'm taking down the details now for strategic reasons. Thanks to all.

Today I was resting my eyes on the couch when I got an email tip that someone was making frankly nutty legal threats against a science blogger. There's a blogger in trouble somewhere! I'm like the Wonder Pets, only with 1.375 times more sexual magnetism.

Time for the Popehat Signal.

I investigated, and found that the blogger had written a clear and really extraordinarily mild statement of opinion, and the subject of opinion had posted legal threats on the blog and sent profane, threatening, and frankly disturbing threats by email. The blogger's comment is indisputably protected by the First Amendment and the threat is freakishly frivolous.

I've agreed to help the blogger pro bono. The potential plaintiff has threatened a defamation suit in Texas. Given the communications, it's entirely possible that the threat represents bluster or delusion. But if they are malicious and unethical enough to pull the trigger, we'll need boots on the ground in the Great State of Texas. I'll still do most of the work. Maybe we can test the new Anti-SLAPP statute!

So. Can any Texas lawyers, or people who know Texas lawyers, help us out?

Update: Thanks to all of the lawyers who have responded in the comments or by email, and to those who have suggested leads. Texas attorney Gary Krupkin, an estimable and formidable defender of the First Amendment, has stepped in to act as Texas counsel. Please join me in thanking him: his willingness to help represents the best tradition of service to beleaguered clients and to the First Amendment, and shows how together we can help bloggers resist frivolous legal threats.

There will be an update with a description of the situation only if the best interests of the client warrant. Thanks for understanding.

Last week I sent out the Popehat Signal asking for pro bono help from a Maryland attorney in support of a political blogger who was seeking to preserve his anonymity in a SLAPP suit.

Many people kindly retweeted it and blogged it and passed it along, and several stand-up attorneys inquired to see if they might be able to help. Eventually we found the right match. Now, more can be told.

The blogger is "Aaron Worthing," who currently blogs at Allergic to Bull. You can read about the case at his blog, and read about the motion he has just filed here. I will refrain from discussing the specifics; discover them for yourselves. Suffice it to say that I find the plaintiff in the SLAPP suit quite evil.

Aaron was caught in a ridiculous Catch-22: he was capable of drafting an opposition to the plaintiff's motion seeking to unmask him, but he could not file it without unmasking himself. The dilemma was solved when Elizabeth Kingsley of Harmon, Curran, Spielberg + Eisenberg, LLP in Washington, D.C. answered the Popehat Signal and stepped in for the limited purpose, as I understand it, of petitioning the court to allow Aaron Worthing to file his papers seeking to preserve his anonymity without breaching that anonymity. (Aaron drafted, and is responsible for, the substantive motion to quash subpoenas linked above.) Aaron may post more specifics about that soon. [Edit: here is his post about resolving the Catch-22.]

Beth specializes in representing non-profits and political campaigns, but quickly offered to step in here, to Aaron's gratitude and satisfaction. Beth and Harmon Curran acted in the best tradition of attorney pro bono work. As I've frequently argued, such generosity and civic spirit is essential to protecting freedom of expression in America from threats of all sorts. Beth has my admiration and thanks for helping, as does her firm.

So. What can you do for free speech?

By the way, Aaron is to the right of me, and has written for blogs even more firmly to the right of me. We undoubtedly disagree vigorously about many subjects. I don't have the privilege of knowing Beth well enough to know her political stances, but it would not surprise me in the least if she differs from Aaron as well. But that doesn't matter. You know why.