Paul McMasters, formerly an editor at USA Today , is First Amendment ombudsman at The Freedom Forum in Arlington, Virginia.
Victory is in the eye of the beholder.
Take the court ruling and the jury verdict in the Oprah Winfrey defamation case. Then again, they are not flag-waving victories for the cause of free speech, especially in the 13 states that have food disparagement laws and in the other states where such bills are pending. Before the trial concluded, federal District Judge Mary Lou Robinson ruled that the plaintiffs, Texas cattlemen, had no right to sue Ms. Winfrey under the Texas food disparagement statute. Of course, Judge Robinson did allow the plaintiffs' common law action to proceed. But that failed, courtesy of the jury's verdict.