By this point in writing my passion blogs, I have exhausted any inherent or acquired knowledge I have in astronomy so this topic is a little more down to Earth. This week I researched Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPP suits. These lawsuits are essentially a powerful individual or company putting a chokehold on free press or individuals by threatening to sue media outlets or people for defamation with the knowledge that most newspapers, sites and people lack the funds to defend themselves in court against fiscal juggernauts. In most media cases, the newspaper or site retracts the article rather than risk going to court over it, and in the case of individuals, companies or powerful people will usually send journalists or activists a cease and desist letter, warning that failure to observe the notice will result in a lawsuit. I first learned about this topic after watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Oliver was prepared to do a piece on the state of the coal industry and its safeguards to protect workers. Specifically, the piece focused on the Murray Energy Corporation, headed by CEO Robert Murray. The piece condemned Murray on encouraging unsafe mining practices and lying to families about the death of workers when one of his mines collapsed, which he blamed on an earthquake. When Murray’s legal team learned of the piece before it was taped and broadcasted, they sent John Oliver and HBO a cease and desist letter, stating that any attempt to defame or slander Robert Murray would result in legal action. Oliver actually read the letter on the air, and then followed the script he had prepared anyway. Sure enough, this resulted in a lawsuit from Murray Energy against John Oliver. Luckily, HBO, the parent company of his show, backed Oliver, loaning him their legal team to defend him in court. The result of the case was Oliver and HBO winning, with the Judge stating that Robert Murray was attempting to infringe on first amendment rights. Murray ended up having to pay all of the court costs, and Oliver gloated on air once again. Now this is uplifting that free speech won out in this case, but it is a very rare occurrence. Not everyone has the TV studio behind Game of Thrones on their side then they are sued by large corporations. This system not only suppresses free speech, but is a burden on the legal system as well. These lawsuits are frivolous and numerous, taking time away from genuine cases that need to be ruled upon. I believe that regulation from the Justice Department is in order. I think defamation lawsuits should be harder to bring against news organizations and individuals, and there should be strict guidelines to what constitutes actual malicious attacks, or just merely people expressing their opinions.