The Institute for Free Speech has joined nine other civil liberties and media organizations to file an amicus brief in support of neither party in Yusef Salaam, et al. v. Donald J. Trump. The brief urges the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to recognize that Pennsylvania’s new anti-SLAPP law applies in federal court.
The brief argues that the Pennsylvania Uniform Public Expression Protection Act’s (PA-UPEPA) substantive provisions—including its immunity and fee-shifting measures—should be available to defendants in federal court. Without federal applications, PA-UPEPA’s protections for public expression would be severely undermined, encouraging forum-shopping and creating an inequitable system where defendants’ rights vary based on venue.
The Institute filed the brief alongside the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Americans for Prosperity Pennsylvania, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters, Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Radio Television Digital News Association, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Student Press Law Center.
The brief takes no position on the merits of the underlying case. Instead, it focuses solely on preserving the law’s substantive anti-SLAPP protections across both state and federal forums.
To read the amicus brief in Yusef Salaam, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, click here.
