Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs v. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC

“In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.” (New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) 403 U.S. 713, 717 [ 29 L.Ed.2d 822 , 91 S.Ct. 2140 ] (New York Times.) “[Pjrior restraints on speech and publication are the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights.” (Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart (1976) 427 U.S. 539, 559 [ 49 L.Ed.2d 683 , 96 S.Ct. 2791 ] (Nebraska Press).) “The damage can be particularly great when the prior restraint falls upon the communication of news and commentary on current events.” (Ibid.)

In this case, the union representing deputy sheriffs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sued to enjoin the Los Angeles Times from publishing news reports about the department’s hiring of officers who used to work for the county’s office of public safety. The union alleged that a Times reporter had documents and information from the applications and background checks on the deputies. The trial court granted the Times’s antiSLAPP motion. The union and unnamed Doe plaintiffs…