Most people know they have freedom of speech. However, most people don’t know about the Oklahoma Citizens Participation Act (OCPA). This statute (summary attached) is a protection for all persons, including news media, if a meritless libel or slander lawsuit is filed against you.
Around the country these are called “anti- SLAPP” laws – an acronym for “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.” Oklahoma has one of the best anti-SLAPP laws in the nation. HB 1236 – by McCall/McCortney - would weaken our Citizens Participation Act.
If a powerful person or company wants somebody to stop writing or speaking about them, one tactic is to file a libel or slander suit against the person/publication. In Oklahoma – because of our existing OCPA law – you can get an expedited hearing and the judge can throw out the lawsuit if it is meritless, and the judge “shall” award you attorney’s fees and reasonable expenses.
HB 1236 changes one word in statute. It deletes the word “shall” and inserts the word “may” when the judge decides to award attorney’s fees and expenses. That small change will have a big impact. The powerful are emboldened to file “strategic lawsuits against public participation” and the person/publication must think twice before it decides to fight in court. If you SHALL get your attorney fees back, you fight. If you MAY get your fees back, you must think hard about spending thousands of dollars to defend your right to free speech.
This applies to elected officials, too! A recent example is when former Senator Ron Sharp was sued for his criticism of Epic Charter Schools and their enrollment and financial model. Epic filed a libel and slander legal action against a sitting state senator. Sharp used the OCPA law to get an expedited hearing and the judge threw out the meritless lawsuit and awarded Sharp appx. $36,000 in legal fee reimbursement, and sanctioned Community Strategies (Epic) $500,000 as a deterrent to future meritless legal actions.
Call your state representative or senator and ask them to NOT OVERRIDE the veto of HB 1236. This is important for newspapers, online reviewers, and any other persons that believe in freedom of speech and expression.