Posted on 07/17/2009 11:58:40 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
The full Texas Second Court of Appeals yesterday rejected an attempt by a coalition of seven Islamic organizations to further their defamation lawsuit against an online writer and have him branded as less than a "real" journalist.
As WND reported, after Joe Kaufman wrote an article for the online FrontPage Magazine exposing terrorist connections in two American Muslim groups, he was sued by a swarm of Islamic organizations, none of which he had even mentioned in his article.
The lawsuit technique is called by some "legal jihad" or "Islamist lawfare," and the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Kaufman in the lawsuit, claims Muslim advocates are using the strategy to bully online journalists into silence.
"The lawsuit against Kaufman was funded by the Muslim Legal Fund for America. The head of that organization, Khalil Meek, admitted on a Muslim radio show that lawsuits were being filed against Kaufman and others to set an example," claims a Thomas More statement on the case. "Indeed, for the last several years, Muslim groups in the U.S. have engaged in the tactic of filing meritless lawsuits to silence any public discussion of Islamic terrorist threats."
And though a three-judge panel of the court had unanimously dismissed the case, the Islamic groups sought an "en banc" opinion, meaning a ruling from the entire court of seven justices.
The Texas Second Court of Appeals, however, issued a "per curiam," or entire court, opinion yesterday, upholding the panel's decision to dismiss the lawsuit.
Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented in a statement, "It is gratifying to see our client's First
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
Good!
The next step is forcing the Mohammedans to reimburse Mr Kaufman’s court costs.
Thank you for the ping STARWISE.
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ON THE INTERNET:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/legaljihad/index
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/lawfare/index
Can some lawyer explain why a counter-suit for damages, or a loser pays legal system, is not generally countenanced in America?
Just a guess, but the trial lawyers bloc is one of the biggest contributors to Democrats.
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