Call it a case of piercing the blogging veil. A University of Miami law professor is suing the popular online legal tabloid, Above the Law, for false light, invasion of privacy, and copyright infringement. But before you lock up your keyboards, toss out your cordless mice, and renounce online social media as a form of communication, it may be worth your blogging dime to take a look closer look at the lawsuit.
First, the allegations. The flame of controversy was sparked by the arrest of Professor Donald Marvin Jones of U of M law school on suspicion of soliciting an undercover officer for prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to the solicitation charge, which was then dropped, accompanied by an expungement of the matter from the Professor's record. But the irony of a professor of criminal procedure and author of a book on race, gender, and criminal implications being detained for possible solicitation did not escape the purview of the editorial legal blog. Through a series of posts, Above the Law, poked fun at the incident and the professor, including posting a suggestive photographic collage. The collage post was accompanied with a disclaimer.
