[Eugene Volokh] "We Need Not Apply Newton's First Law of Motion to Legal Precedent"

An interesting turn of phrase from Tuesday's concurrence by Judge Michael Catlett, joined by Judge James Morse Jr., in Hintzen-Gaines v. Adelson. The specific issue the two judges (who actually formed the majority of the three-judge panel, but wrote this in a concurrence):

[W]hen properly raised, this court should set things right in this area of law by making clear that only common law rules apply when a private-figure plaintiff brings a defamation claim based on speech addressing only matters of private concern. Ultimately, however, we agree with the majority decision that plaintiff did enough under existing caselaw to survive a motion to dismiss, and therefore we join the majority decision in full.

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