COURTS

What In the Q Is This Federal Judge Going On About?

At least(?) it's only a dissent.

By KATHRYN RUBINO
on March 19, 2021 at 12:07 PM

Oh, dear. This dissent is WILD, y’all. Like your uncle got into the brandy early at Christmas dinner and is now shouting the latest conspiracy theories from Newsmax to the room as bits of partially chewed breadsticks fly about.

The case is a defamation appeal in the D.C. Circuit. Judge Tatel wrote for the majority, and is joined by Chief Judge Srinivasan, and it’s a fairly unremarkable First Amendment decision. But wooboy, Judge Laurence Silberman’s dissent goes full around the bend. (As a reminder, Silberman last graced these pages for his defense of military assets being named after traitors — you know, Confederate ones — and being promptly and beautifully slapped back by a clerk, because no one else would say anything.)

In the dissent (and thank goodness it’s only a dissent), Silberman has some *thoughts* about New York Times v. Sullivan — you know the foundational First Amendment case — yeah, he wants the Supreme Court to overturn it. Stare decisis? That’s for cucks.

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Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern tweets:

🚨D.C. Circuit Judge Silberman just released a truly wild dissent calling on the Supreme Court to overturn New York Times v. Sullivan, claiming NYT and WaPo are "virtually Democratic Party broadsheets," and accusing "big tech" of censoring conservatives. https://cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/C5F7840A6FFFCF648525869D004ECAC5/$file/19-7132-1890626.pdf

Link to tweet

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