JONATHAN ADLER: Whatever happened to Michael Mann’s defamation suit? (2016 edition).

As I’ve noted before, I think this should be a relatively easy case. However offensive or intemperate the posts at issue, they should be recognized as protected speech. To hold otherwise would be to confuse hyperbolic rhetoric for actionable defamation. Moreover, insofar as the statements at issue reflected the defendants’ sincere belief that Mann manipulated his data to exaggerate the threat of climate change and that PSU’s cursory investigation into his conduct was insufficient, they do not demonstrate the degree of “actual malice” or “reckless disregard” for the truth necessary for a defamation claim, a point recognized even by folks who share Mann’s general views on climate science (such as UCal Berkeley’s Daniel Farber). Under Mann’s theory, George Zimmerman could sue anyone who claimed he “got away with murder” after killing Trayvon Martin. (Ditto equivalent claims about O.J. Simpson, Timothy Loehmann, etc.). It’s no wonder that so many media groups and others filed amicus briefs on the defendants’ behalf.

Mann doesn’t act like a scientist confident in his data and his interpretation. He acts like he has something to be ashamed of.