Susanna Granieri is the senior staff writer at First Amendment Watch and lead researcher on The SLAPP Back Initiative, a first-of-its-kind database tracking strategic lawsuits against public participation. She previously reported on politics and policy for the Albany-based Legislative Gazette and investigated the use of faulty forensic science in death penalty convictions with the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting. She is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz and the Columbia Journalism School.
Susanna Granieri
Senior Staff Writer
Key Takeaways of Supreme Court Oral Arguments in United States v. Hansen
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments March 27 in United States v. Hansen, a case that questions whether a clause of a federal statute which criminalizes the encouragement of illegal immigration to the United States violates the First Amendment.
Federal Judge Grants Netflix Summary Judgment in ‘Making a Murderer’ Defamation Lawsuit
A federal judge granted Netflix summary judgment March 10 in a lawsuit brought by a retired Wisconsin police sergeant who claimed he was defamed in the streaming services’ award-winning true crime series “Making a Murderer.”
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit March 13 filed by a member of the Tallahassee Citizens Police Review Board, (CPRB), who was voted off the board for bringing a cup with an “abolish police” sticker to board meetings.
Twitter Barred from Disclosing ‘National Security’ Information Requests, Ninth Circuit Says
The FBI restricted what Twitter could publish in its biannual “Transparency Report,” but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled March 6 in a 2-1 decision that it was not a violation of the company’s freedom of speech.
An ‘Assault on the First Amendment’: Recent Legislation in DeSantis’ Florida
Two Florida bills filed by State Rep. Alex Andrade, a Gov. Ron DeSantis ally, on the same day in late February represent “a full-fledged assault on the First Amendment,” says Bobby Block, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation.
Trump Isn’t Immune to Capitol Riot Lawsuits, the Department of Justice Says
In a brief filed March 2 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of Justice told the federal appeals court that former President Donald Trump should not be immune to the civil-damages lawsuits filed against him by legislators and injured Capitol police as a result of the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
Murdoch & Friends: Revelations from an Unsealed Dominion Filing in Suit Against Fox
The recently unsealed filing in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox includes revelations into internal conversations at the network, and its knowledge that Donald Trump’s claims of a fraudulent presidential election in 2020 were false, but aired them anyway.
Rupert Murdoch’s Deposition Unsealed in Dominion v. Fox Defamation Suit
"To this day, Rupert Murdoch and Fox refuse to apologize for or retract the lies Fox News broadcast about Dominion, even though he [Murdoch] admits that 'I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight' and that Fox hosts 'endorsed' the 'false notion of a stolen election,'" Dominion's filing stated.