Wisconsin needs an anti-SLAPP law
Wisconsin must join the growing number of states that enact protections against lawsuits intended to shut down public debate.
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. These meritless lawsuits are filed to shut down opposing voices with the goal of stifling public debate. The people filing the lawsuits know they have little chance of actually winning in court, but that’s not the goal.
“The goal of these lawsuits isn’t to win; it’s to bury an individual under mountains of legal bills. Many of these cases don’t stand a chance in court—but to the average American, the threat is intimidating enough to silence them,” noted Matthew Prensky of the Institute for Justice, a national public interest law firm that works to fight government abuse of power.
It costs money to mount any sort of legal defense. Being proven right in court is a shallow victory when you have drained your savings and bankrupted your business to pay for the legal bills. A recent SLAPP lawsuit involving the Wausau Pilot and Review cost that paper’s owners $200,000 in legal bills before the state Appeals Court ruled in their favor.
A court deciding in your favor is little comfort when it comes to the social, health and emotional torment of having court cases drag out and having to defend yourself for standing up for speaking the truth.
Beyond the personal costs, SLAPP cases enact a societal cost due to squandering court resources and clogging an alreadyoverburdened judicial system. This results in delaying justice for victims of crimes and for those involved in legitimate lawsuits.
Wisconsin needs to join the growing number of states that have enacted anti-SLAPP laws to prevent the legal system from becoming the tool used by those with wealth and power to shut down legitimate disagreement.
Wisconsin is among just 17 states that do not have an anti-SLAPP law on the books. Such laws allow a judge to quickly dismiss these frivolous lawsuits as being without merit and require the plaintiff to pay the defendant’s legal costs.
A bill was proposed in Wisconsin in 2023 but it did not even make it to a hearing in the legislature. That bill’s primary flaw was that it was introduced by the minority party and as a result was dead on arrival in the legislature. For any anti-SLAPP law to be enacted, it must be brought forward as a bipartisan initiative.
A truism in modern America is that if you have enough money you can sue anybody for anything. Anti-SLAPP laws may not prevent that, but rather will provide a robust and speedy defense for those who are exercising their rights and duties as citizens to raise their voices and ask pressing questions important in public debate.
