Lowell v. Wright

Does freedom of the press belong to the institutional media or to every American who wishes to publish?

The Institute for Free Speech joined an amicus brief to the Oregon Supreme Court in an important case on this question. In Lowell v. Wright, an Oregon court ruled that plaintiffs in defamation cases can more easily sue and obtain damages from regular citizens than from incorporated media entities. This ruling contradicts consistent Supreme Court rulings that the institutional press has no greater constitutional privilege than ordinary Americans.

The amicus brief was signed by IFS, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Oregon Law Professors William Funk, Ofer Raban, and Kyu Ho Youm, and legal bloggers Professor Glenn Reynolds, Howard Bashman, SCOTUSblog, and Professor Eugene Volokh.

Read the full amicus brief here.