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Speak No Evil

By Michael Berry
April 27, 2006

An age-old question of Internet law has heated up the intrastate rivalry between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but this time it's not sports teams or gubernatorial candidates; it's judges. Yes, judges.

The question: When can an anonymous Internet speaker accused of defamation be unmasked? The combatants: Judge Albert Sheppard of Philadelphia and Judge R. Stanton Wettick of Pittsburgh ' two of Pennsylvania's most respected jurists. If Pennsylvania can be split on the issue, so can other states. Which argument is correct?

Wettick dealt with this question first, nearly 6 years ago in Melvin v. Doe after Judge Joan Orie Melvin filed a defamation claim against John Doe defendants based on anonymous statements about her posted on a blog hosted by AOL. When Melvin sought the defendants' identities in discovery, Wettick gave them an opportunity to oppose the subpoena and to challenge Melvin's ability to prevail on her claim. The John Doe defendants responded by filing a motion for a protective order and a motion for summary judgment.

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