Identifying an anonymous blogger or author of a comment on a website in an internet defamation case presents challenges for plaintiffs, defendants and the court. The plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit, of course, wants to identify the person who they believe engaged in online libel or slander, idneitifed int eh COmplaint as John Doe. But there is a constitutional right attaching to anonymous speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Thus, the person whose speech is alleged to be defamatory may have a constitutional right to remain anonymous. Courts in John Doe litigation are typically asked by plaintiff's attoreny is an ex parte fashion to allow discovery necessary to “identify” the John Doe defendant in the case.
In this interview of Paul Allen Levy, attorney for Public Citizen, we explore the so-called “Dendrite rule” and its potential application in Michigan to defamation cases. States that have applied a heightened standard of showing by plaintiffs in defamation cases in order to identify anonymous John Doe defendants include: Maryland, District of Columbia, New Jersey, Tennessee, New York, California, Connecticut, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and potentially Michigan in the near term.
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