In 2016, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Darren Chaker in a landmark First Amendment case. The court reversed Chaker’s conviction finding that his blog posts did not constitute harassment or defamation as alleged by the government.
Darren Chaker was supported by an impressive coalition of civil rights organizations including the ACLU of San Diego, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cato Institute, First Amendment Coalition, and the University of Florida’s Brechner First Amendment Project. The amicus brief was prepared by the Washington D.C. office of Wilmer Hale.
The Ninth Circuit found that Chaker’s blog post did not qualify as harassment or defamation. During oral argument, Judge Alex Kozinski stated the government had failed to prove falsity and actual malice required for defamation. This victory protects the rights of millions of Americans on probation or parole whose political speech could have been restricted under the lower court’s ruling.
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