Monday, July 21, 2014

Investigation based on complaint about anonymous criticism closed

Back in January I commented on a complaint filed by a law professor against a blogger for what the professor called cyber-bullying or harassment.  The ProfsBlawg and Legal Ethics Forum are now reporting (here and here) that the state disciplinary authorities have decided not to pursue an action against the blogger.  Even though, I found many of the comments by the blogger to be offensive, I think the decision is correct (for the reasons I explained in my original post) as long as the basis of the complaint was merely speech that expressed opinions.  If the complaint was based on conduct, or on speech that could be construed as actual threats, the story would be different.  However, it seems like the issue is now closed.