Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

"Monsieur l'abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write." Voltaire, letter to M. le Riche, February 6, 1770.

JON KATZ, P.C., VIGOROUSLY DEFENDS AGAINST LIBEL, DEFAMATION AND SLANDER SUITS. Such lawsuits are incompatible with the First Amendment, the Constitution, and personal liberty. Many litigants freely and excessively bring libel charges, whether as individual lawsuits, or as sideshow counts or counterclaims. Although true defamation can cause real harm, it is not possible to permit libel suits without weakening the First Amendment at the same time. Moreover, libel suits are often used by the mighty to silence the underdog; witness the SLAPP suits that corporations repeatedly bring against such activists as the animal rights crusaders. The threat of debilitating libel damages has turned too many smaller periodicals into creampuffs, leaving such heavyweights as the New York Times and the Washington Post ready with a financial war chest against such suits. Some jurisdictions even provide for criminal penalties for libel. 

Jon Katz, P.C. will not file lawsuits for libel, defamation, and slander, whether as a main lawsuit or as be a sideshow count or part of a counterclaim. We band together with other libel defense attorneys through such activities as membership in the Medial Law Resource Center (originally the Libel Defense Resource Center). We love defending against such lawsuits, and look forward to the day when such lawsuits are never allowed. 

Our Libel Defense partner Jon Katz brings our clients a powerful mix of fourteen years constantly battling in the trial and appellate courts; years of fighting for First Amendment rights, and the patience and energy to map out and effectively execute powerful strategy and persuasion for all oral and written arguments to judges and juries. 

UPDATE: Jon Katz, P.C. CONVINCES COURT TO EJECT DEFAMATION LAWSUIT

March 31, 2006, Silver Spring, Maryland - JON KATZ, P.C., has convinced a federal court to eject a defamation lawsuit from Maryland, where the lawsuit was filed against our client who is in New Jersey. The United States District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland agreed on March 30, 2006, with Jon Katz, P.C. that the Maryland courts have no jurisdiction over our client, holding that Maryland's long arm statute does not establish personal jurisdiction where the plaintiff cannot show any contact between the defendant and Maryland other than the defendant's posting of an allegedly defamatory message to a national e-mail listserv focused on Tae Kwon Do refereeing. The court has given the plaintiff until mid-April to file a request to have the case transferred to another federal court; Jon Katz, P.C. plans to vigorously oppose any such request. Our case is Dring v. Sullivan, 423 F. Supp. 2d 540 (D.Md. 2006).

All documents filed in the case are available on PACER (see http://www.katzjustice.com/federallawyers.htm for accessing electronically filed federal court documents). You may click the following links to obtain the court's memorandum opinion ejecting the lawsuit; Jon Katz, P.C.'s Motion to Dismiss; our Reply to the Plaintiff's opposition to our motion to dismiss; and our response to the Plaintiff's surreply. 

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