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Iowa lawmaker continues to push legislation to limit lawsuits targeting free speech

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River to River, hosted by Ben Kieffer

Iowa is not among the 34 state, plus the District of Columbia, that have laws restricting SLAPPs, or strategic lawsuits against public participation.

Host Ben Kieffer talks with IPR's Central Iowa reporter Isabella Luu about the priorities laid out by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen in her annual Condition of the Judiciary address given last week. We also get a response on that address from state House Judiciary Committee Chair Steven Holt.

Holt also shares his committee priorities for this year's legislative session, including the reintroduction of an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) bill, that would help protect against meritless defamation claims that are made to financially burden Iowans and the press, effectively silencing them.

Jared Strong of The Gazette shares how SLAPPs relate to cease and desist letters that were sent in the last month to critics of Summit Carbon Solutions.

Iowa's lack of an anti-SLAPP law has also recently been magnified by two lawsuits that have been filed against the Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer. Law and media historian Samantha Barbas weighs in on those lawsuits, as well as a defamation trial that found CNN guilty last week, and what's to come for media companies under the new Trump administration.

Guests:

  • Isabella Luu, IPR Central Iowa reporter
  • Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison
  • Jared Strong, investigative reporter, The Gazette
  • Samantha Barbas, professor and Aliber Family Chair in Law, University of Iowa
Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River
Samantha McIntosh is a talk show producer for Iowa Public Radio. She holds a bachelor's degree from St. Cloud State University. Since 2022, McIntosh has worked with IPR's talk team to bring news and features to IPR's listening audience.