(Delaware)High court to hear blog suit

Delaware State News ^ | August 12, 2005 | Drew Volturo

[Gabz]

Am I reading this wrong, or is the ACLU actually on the right side here?

[Gabz]

The entire situation surrounding the Smyrna elections has gone from weird to bizarro - but this could be down right scary.

[highball]

Incredible as it may seem, they are right.

Anonymous advocate writings were a staple of the Founding Fathers, practiced perhaps most notably by Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.

The blog is no more than a 21st century version of their anonymous pamphlets.

[martin_fierro]

"This may be the first time the highest court in any state has decided this type of case," John Doe No. 1's attorney David L. Finger said in a recent interview.

"Trust me. I'm a lawyer."

[TomGuy]

While anonymity on the Internet is essential for a free exchange of ideas, Judge Slights said there is a difference between exchanging ideas and "using it as a cover to defame others."

First, defamation would have to be proved. If the allegations are true, there is no defamation; thus that legal argument is moot.

[Gabz]

Yes, it is incredible...but good to see them doing the correct thing for a change.

[The Red Zone]

pssst

[Gabz]

LOL!!!

All kidding aside, he is a well respected attorney in Delaware.

[martin_fierro]

Yeah, that *can't* be the first joke made at his expense.

And he's on the side of the angels here (imho).

[Gabz]

If the allegations are true, there is no defamation; thus that legal argument is moot.

And there is the run, which is why I think they are going more towards the following:

"John Doe No. 1 seems to have been making opinion-based comments rather than false statements of fact."

[satchmodog9]

Defamation would be so hard to prove. Could you imagine how fast the FBI would be up your ass if you published an anonymous pamphlet calling for revolution?

[Gabz]

Folks that lose to him in court are commonly known to have been "fingered" :)

[The Red Zone]

Ms. Fennell said the ACLU believes the standard for revealing an anonymous speaker should be "very high."

Also, consider that the credibility of the speaker is at minimum when his or her identity is unknown. The same holds here; we dismiss tin foil hat vanities from posters we don't know citing no verifiable sources to back up their allegations.

[The Red Zone]

I don't think they want to see themselves being outed from DU.

[Gabz]

There has been some wide speculation on various Delaware blogs as to the identities of the 4 John Doe's.

The entire thing revolves around what was a very contentious election for Mayor and Council in that town...up to an including allegations of voter fraud regarding absentee ballots.

[Boundless]

> Am I reading this wrong, or is the ACLU actually
> on the right side here?

They are. This is the sort of case they built their
former reputation on, before they turned to the dark side.

But this thread does serve as a reminder to FR users that,
like Buckhead, you cannot assume that you have impenetrable
anonimity here. A court order, or someone just connecting
the dots, can blow your cover.

[pabianice]

'Who could be behind this?' you ask. Who? Who...?

[Logical me]

And when are they going to work up a case for all the sh@@ and lies on TV? Come on, lets get it on. The main thing I can see why the blogs should be left alone is that they bring up the question. When you have millions who read the question, you have millions of investigators. This is one of the main ways that corruption is discovered. Truth is the masses working on what one perceives as a question.

[Gabz]

But this thread does serve as a reminder to FR users that, like Buckhead, you cannot assume that you have impenetrable anonimity here.

Which is the primary reason I posted it. The political shenanigans of this town hold very little interest to anyone outside.........but the ramifications of this suit will most likely have an impact on us all.

[Gabz]

General consensus is that the anonymous bloggers are friends/associates of the Republican Mayor who has a long history with Cahill.