Sheriff Joe Turned Away By D.C. Federal Court

Reprinted with permission from MLRC MediaLawLetter, August 2019

A judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed all claims brought against The New York Times and columnist Michelle Cottle by former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio arising out of an opinion column. Arpaio v. Cottle, et al., 1:18-cv-02387-APM, 2019 WL 3767104 (D.D.C. Aug. 9, 2019) (Mehta, J.). Arpaio had alleged he was defamed by Cottle's column, but the Court held that Arpaio failed to plead facts alleging actual malice, which was fatal to his defamation and false light privacy claims, and that he could not maintain a tortious interference with prospective business relations claim as an end-run around libel protections. Read More 

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