SLAPPed by Pet Killers
After a local television station broadcast a three-part exposé of the corruption at the Atlanta Humane Society, an outraged local cat rescuer on a private Internet message board called AHS executive director Bill Garrett "evil" and "unworthy to lick the cat or dog poop off our shoes," and called on the Atlanta animal welfare community to "end his long and tragic career, both at AHS and in every pet-related capacity."
In a gross violation of her First Amendment rights, Garrett and the AHS joined in a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) against myself, the cat rescuer, as well as Barbara Harkins, a former AHS employee who dared to appear in the TV broadcast, and publicly threatened to file 57 more suits against critics in a blatant effort to squelch public comment and preserve the AHS' $2 million government contract, which was up for renewal.
This site describes how I am battling for my First Amendment rights against this corrupt, pro-kill multi-million dollar corporation and former government contractor.
Latest News
On June 14, 2004, the Georgia Supreme Court heard oral arguments in both cases. Gerry Webber of the ACLU argued very ably for both of us that these cases are meritless SLAPP suits that should have been dismissed long ago. Alan Begner argued the AHS was a government contractor who is prohibited by law from filing libel suits against anyone. The AHS stuck with their tired tripe that they are victims who deserve their day in court to defend their reputation, that Barbara and I are out to get them, and that they were not government contractors. Chief Justice Fletcher, who voted against granting the AHS' appeal in the first place, showed skepticism through pointed questions. The decision is expected to be rendered in September.
In May, Georgia Legal Watch (formerly Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest) filed a friend-of-the-court brief. GLW executive director Douglas P. Haines drafted the original version of Georgia's anti-SLAPP statute, which Sen. Margaret Oliver introduced as a bill during the 1995 session of the General Assembly and ultimately passed during the 1996 session. They asked the court to dismiss the suits, since they "wholly lacked the necessary grounding in fact and law" and were "filed to chill free speech." Having the original authors of Georgia's anti-SLAPP statute state on the record that these are the exact type of lawsuits they wanted to make illegal is pretty persuasive.
On March 29, 2004, the Georgia Supreme Court agreed to hear AHS' appeal of the dismissal of my case. The court combined my case with that of Barbara Harkins. The court will determine whether the cases are SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), which are barred by Georgia law for their chilling effect on freedom of speech. The court will also examine whether Gwinnett Superior Court Judge William Ray was correct in dismissing the Atlanta Humane Society as a plaintiff in the libel suit against me because the group is a "quasi-governmental entity."
On November 21, 2003, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled my case, like the related Harkins case, is a SLAPP suit and ordered the Gwinnett Superior Court to dismiss it. Get more information about the ruling and the oral arguments in my case.
Best Friends Animal Society filed an amicus ("friend of the court") brief on my behalf, arguing that I should have the right to state my opinion about the AHS. Best Friends is the second major national organization to file a brief on my behalf, joining In Defense of Animals.
|
