A defamation lawsuit filed against the Bolinas Hearsay News and several of its contributors was dismissed this week by a Marin County Superior Court judge, who ruled that a poem published in the paper amounted to protected speech.
Last Friday, Judge Stephen Freccero granted the defendants’ motion to strike Cheryl Ruggiero’s claims under California’s anti-SLAPP law. The law, which stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, applies to meritless suits aimed at suppressing free…