In this episode, Anne Champion walks us through legal protections for the press and publishers, including Anti-SLAPP statutes, and the “actual malice” standard adopted by the Supreme Court in the famous First Amendment case of New York Times v. Sullivan.  Along the way, we hear about Anne’s representation of Mary Trump in two lawsuits, including one brought by former President Donald Trump, relating to Mary Trump’s book Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.  We also discuss the recent libel case brought by Sarah Palin against the New York Times.

Then, we get garrulous with Anne about something more personal.  Twenty-five years ago, a high school friend of hers, Laura Van Wyhe, was found almost lifeless by the side of a road, apparently the victim of foul play.  Laura died at a hospital soon thereafter, and the case has remained unsolved all these years.  More recently, Anne has made it a personal mission to uncover new leads and solve the case.  The intertwined stories of Laura’s death, and Anne’s pursuit of the truth, has recently been the subject of a gripping podcast called Bonaparte.  We’ll talk to Anne about the making of that podcast, and her continued hunt for clues to the untimely death of her friend.