Mickey Kaus: Palin’s Case for Defamation
Wow. Does Mickey Kaus read The Rhetorican?
I seriously doubt it, but Mickey also has a law degree; and – as I did a few days ago here – Mickey has posted some thoughts of his own on the untoothlessness of Palin’s much-ridiculed (wrongly, I think) lawsuit letter; but in the context of current federal internet law, which I omitted discussing completely (my law school coursework barely touched on it – I recall only reading Zeran v. AOL – and frankly I forgot about it).
Interesting. The upshot is that bloggers themselves are liable for defamatory statements under the relevant law. No pointing the finger at the website or the website owner. You posted it, you are liable. Nevermind who your publisher is. But Mickey also posits some possible scenarios that may result in the aftermath of a successful defamatory action of this sort. The blogosphere could – conceivably – never be the same.
(Via Instapundit)
