G.W., et al. v. Coronado Unified School District, et al.

FIRE has seen an increasing number of cases where government defendants rely on California’s anti-SLAPP statute to dismiss non-viable civil rights cases at an early stage of litigation. The problem is the anti-SLAPP statute, which was designed to protect speakers from being silenced by meritless lawsuits filed by the well-heeled, requires judges to order plaintiffs to pay the defendant’s attorney’s fees if they successfully strike claims under the statute. But plaintiffs should not be forced to pay for government officials to defend against civil rights claims. This case, in which a California court ordered dismissal of a high school student’s free speech claims and ordered her to pay a school district’s attorney’s fees, offered a unique opportunity for FIRE to submit an amicus letter brief asking the California Supreme Court to review the case and stem the tide – at least when individuals bring federal civil rights claims against the government officials in California state courts.