{"id":90,"date":"2020-06-16T16:19:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T16:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faclinic.cyrus.company\/blog\/?p=90"},"modified":"2023-02-21T21:59:20","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T21:59:20","slug":"trial-court-denies-tro-in-first-amendment-win-for-local-geneva-news-outlet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/trial-court-denies-tro-in-first-amendment-win-for-local-geneva-news-outlet\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial Court Denies TRO in First Amendment Win for Local Geneva News Outlet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cornell Clinic and Greenberg Traurig Team Up to Defend The Geneva Believer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornell Law School\u2019s First Amendment Clinic and co-counsel Greenberg Traurig, LLP scored a victory last Thursday for citizen journalist Jim Meaney and his blog The Geneva Believer<\/em>.  A New York judge denied a construction company\u2019s extraordinary request for a temporary restraining order requiring that ten articles be removed from the local government-focused blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a June 11, 2020 order denying the TRO<\/a>, the trial court expressly affirmed that a take down order would violate the First Amendment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFighting for the right of citizen journalist Jim Meaney to report on a matter of significant public concern\u2014how a local government conducts its business dealings\u2014is the most recent example of the crucial work that our Local Journalism Project<\/em> is doing to defend local newsgatherers,\u201d said First Amendment Clinic Director Mark Jackson.  \u201cRulings like this one benefit all reporters by protecting them from efforts to stifle speech at the heart of the First Amendment\u2019s protections.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Meaney is represented by Cornell Clinic Associate Director Cortelyou Kenney, Jackson, and teaching fellow Tyler Valeska, along with co-counsel Michael Grygiel of Greenberg Traurig.  Cornell Clinic student members Corby Burger, Michael Mapp, and Rob Ward also contributed to the successful opposition to the TRO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Geneva Believer<\/em> covers local government issues in Geneva, New York.  In several articles, Mr. Meaney raised questions about construction contracts that Massa Construction Inc. had with the City of Geneva, including potential conflicts of interest of certain City Council members.  After Mr. Meaney received a cease-and-desist letter from Massa accusing him of defaming the company, he reached out to the Cornell Clinic for help.  Before the Clinic could even respond, Massa filed a defamation complaint against Meaney in state court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Clinic and Grygiel requested Massa withdraw the suit on the bases of defective pleading and New York\u2019s anti-SLAPP protections, Massa filed an amended complaint and a motion for a temporary restraining order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe trial court\u2019s decision reaffirms longstanding Supreme Court precedent recognizing that orders such as the one requested by Massa are a classic example of an unconstitutional prior restraint,\u201d said Grygiel. \u201cUnless the case is voluntarily dismissed, we will be filing a motion to dismiss the complaint in the coming weeks. New York\u2019s anti-SLAPP law protects people like Mr. Meaney from the chilling effect of suits brought to restrict or censor their reporting and commentary.\u201d  Grygiel co-chairs Greenberg\u2019s National Media and Entertainment Litigation Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Massa has filed a notice of appeal of the trial court\u2019s decision to the Appellate Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cornell First Amendment Clinic is engaged in a variety of cases and projects advancing the interests of free speech and freedom of the press.  Its recently launched Local Journalism Project<\/em> addresses the increasing void in legal representation facing newsgatherers and media outlets that would otherwise be precluded from engaging in expensive litigation to defend their rights and ability to do their jobs.  The Clinic\u2019s work extends across disciplines, impacting journalists, researchers, human rights advocates, political advocates, and other individuals targeted based on their expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Letter to the Court<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Read the Brief<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Court Order<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cornell Clinic and Greenberg Traurig Team Up to Defend The Geneva Believer Cornell Law School\u2019s First Amendment Clinic and co-counsel Greenberg Traurig, LLP scored a victory last Thursday for citizen journalist Jim Meaney and his blog The Geneva Believer.  A New York judge denied a construction company\u2019s extraordinary request for a temporary restraining order requiring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}