‘Law Books’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

As a DC resident who writes things on the Internet (and been threatened with frivolous lawsuits about it from time to time), I am gratified to note that in the DC Council’s legislative session on Tuesday, the Council passed the Anti-SLAPP Act of 2010.

SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, which just means a lawsuit designed less to actually be won on its merits, and more to intimidate the defendant into backing down just to avoid the costly process. Maryland has had one, but DC did not. Now that the bill has passed the council, it’s on to the Mayor’s office. And then of course to Congress. But Anti-SLAPP laws are becoming an increasingly common remedy now that the Internet allows anyone to publish to the whole world, so while it’s not a done deal, there won’t likely be any holdups, and before long, it’ll be a lot easier to stand up to lawsuit-wielding bullies in DC.

Tiffany Bridge

Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.

Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.