Cheng v. Neumann - Freedom of the Press

We filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting Maine Beacon reporter Dan Neumann. In a victory for journalists’ First Amendment rights, the First Circuit dismissed defamation claims filed by Cheng and Epoch Group.

The briefs were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Epoch Group v. Neumann. Dana Cheng is the co-founder of the New York-based Epoch Group, which publishes The Epoch Times.

In our briefs, we explained that Neumann's and the Beacon's reporting was protected under the First Amendment and under New York’s anti-SLAPP statute. SLAPPs are “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” and are weaponized to intimidate people into silence and chill free speech. Many states have passed laws to protect free speech by raising the bar for when someone can sue claiming they were harmed by another person’s speech.

Journalists can only be held liable for defamation against public figures in very rare circumstances. We argued that, as public figures, the plaintiffs did not meet their very high burden under the First Amendment to show the Beacon published allegedly false statements with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth. Additionally, we argued that under New York's anti-SLAPP statute, the article published by the Beacon was speech bearing on the public interest, which is unquestionably protected by the law.

In February 2022, the district court dismissed the lawsuit against Neumann and the Beacon. The plaintiffs appealed the dismissal to the appeals court. Our friend-of-the-court briefs supporting Neumann and the Beacon underscored the important First Amendment principles at stake in this case.

On October 25, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the defamation claims on First Amendment grounds, in a major victory for constitutional journalistic protections.