Judicial Censorship: SLAPP Lawsuits:
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are a disturbing trend generally used by large corporations to suppress freedom of speech, assembly and other rights. According to Wikipedia half the United States, including Massachusetts have laws on the books protecting citizens against such abusive legal maneuvers. For those unprotected states and for loopholes to protective laws, any industry that carry out any unpopular practices could prevent bad publicity by filing a SLAPP suit against any would-be protestor who may cause the company to lose business or revenue. These companies may file ridiculously exorbitant slander suits to try to intimidate and silence any would-be critic or protestor. Since these lawsuits are often for millions of dollars, many people quickly become too intimidated to continue protesting. In fact, the experience of being 'SLAPPed' may be enough to make many people think twice about speaking up or acting in the face of injustice or dissatisfaction for the rest of their lives. Imagine if these suits existed in the Civil Rights era. Luckily some gutsy people have countersued due to these groundless slander or nuisance litigations, and many such individuals have received handsome rewards. I think SLAPP suits should be illegal nationwide and internationally, plus any attorney who litigates SLAPP suits should be immediately disbarred and fined. (to be cont'd)
[The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.]
No comments:
Post a Comment