On the other hand, I am no criminal, either!
THE LIARS are the CRIMINALS and the TRUTH-TELLERS are the PERSECUTED!!!!
"Reporters' shield does not apply to blogger"
"
SNOW HILL -- A judge rejected a motion Wednesday that area Web log operator Joseph Albero is shielded by a state law that protects news reporters in connection with a defamation lawsuit by Salisbury Police Chief Allan Webster.
District Court Judge Gerald Purnell decided Albero must explain the steps he took to verify the accuracy of content that Webster claimed defamed him.
The judge, however, upheld that Albero does not have to reveal the source of a contested letter Albero posted on his blog, which allegedly defamed the top Salisbury officer last spring. This means the veracity of the source of the possibly damaging information cannot be used to prove defamation.
"It was successful for both sides. We got a little of what we wanted, and they got a little of what they wanted," said Webster's attorney, Jesse Hammock, of the Baltimore-based Miles & Stockbridge law firm.
Materials published on Albero's controversial blog, www.sbynews.com, routinely target officials for alleged misdoing or what he characterizes as general incompetence.
Webster filed a complaint against Albero for $9,999, for recklessly, possibly maliciously, publishing information harmful to Webster's character. But since Webster is a public official, the bar to prove Albero's alleged intent or possible disregard of the truth is high.
"Our view continues to be Mr. Albero is a member of the news media, and it is a news media outlet. That continues to be our view withstanding the judge's ruling," said Bruce Bright, Albero's attorney and a partner with the Worcester County-based Ayres, Jenkins, Gordy & Almand.
Proving actual malice and damages are Herculean tasks, attorney Ronald Coleman of the New York-based law firm Bragar, Wexler and Eagel, who has defended bloggers in the past, said last August. While the First Amendment will shield bloggers from lawsuits, it doesn't cloak them in body armor, Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association of New Rochelle, N.Y., said last year.... "
General Rule: The more they come after you, the more truth you are telling.
Otherwise, why bother?
