Law would shield Arizonans from foreign libel suits
Washington, D.C. 2010-02-18

State lawmakers are moving to give Arizonans, including the media, protections against being sued for libel in other countries.

Legislation making its way through the Senate would prohibit Arizona courts from recognizing a defamation judgment issued by a court in another nation unless that country had free speech and press protections like those in the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions...

"Bodney said the situation hasn't arisen in Arizona - yet. But he said Arizona should take proactive steps to prevent the problem, just as in New York, California, Illinois and Florida. He said these suits happen. The New York law, dubbed "Rachel's Law," was passed in reaction to a lawsuit filed in London by a person who did not like how he was portrayed in a book by Rachel Ehrenfeld, a New York author, which detailed how terrorism is funded."