John Hoff, former Grand Forks City Councilman (and UND School of Law student) is on trial in Minneapolis, facing allegations that his blog, “The Adventures of Johnny Northside” got Jerry Moore fired. Mr. Moore is the former executive director of University of Minnesota’s Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center - a neighborhood community council in north Minneapolis. He claims that Mr. Hoff’s blog lied about him and that is what got him fired. Mr. Moore is seeking more than $50,000 from Hoff.
The blog in question has contained entries about Mr. Moore’s association with a big mortgage fraud case. The exact details of the entries were not readily available in the article I read, but one of the main issues in the case will be whether Mr. Hoff is afforded the same First Amendment protections from libel and slander as do mainstream journalists. “My defense is the truth,” Hoff told the Star Tribune. “I’m not being sued because I defamed anybody. I was sued to shut me up.” This brings to mind discussions we had in class regarding Perez Hilton, Matthew Drudge, etcetera and whether the law would treat these bloggers as mainstream journalists.
Without knowing the exact facts of the case, I am not sure how I think the law will treat this case. What may be interesting to consider: what would change if Mr. Hoff had an anonymous blog (or posted under a pseudonym)? Would the analysis shift to a strictly content-based one? If so, I wonder what the implications would be on his ISP.
Some additional factors to consider when thinking about this case are that during the1990s, he lived in Seattle, and apparently raised some hell with the local politicians on homelessness issues, while also making headlines for his grandstanding for open records issues as well. In Minneapolis, he seems to have continued his outspoken ways of activism, allegedly making both friends and enemies.
According to the Star Tribune, his case has attracted the attention of a Harvard free speech group who persuaded an attorney to represent him at no cost.
