Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Wikileaks

Today, the Bank Julius Baer & Co. asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit it had filed against Wikileaks on February 20th, claiming Wikileaks displayed stolen documents revealing confidential information about the accounts of the bank’s clients.

From the New York Times: “The judge’s action drew a flurry of media attention and a barrage of legal filings by media and other organizations arguing that the order violated the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.”

“After a hearing on Friday, Judge White withdrew that order, saying that he was worried about its First Amendment implications and that he thought it might not be possible to prevent viewing of the documents once they had been posted on the Web anyway.”

Proving once again that not unlike infuriated skunks, e-mails can leave distinct foul scents.

Here, a quick sniff from an email from the Bank’s lawyers to Wikipedia:

“> This is your final warning — if you desire to resolve this matter

> without the necessity of litigation, your counsel may contact the

> undersigned within twenty-four hours.

>

> You act at your own peril.

>

> Govern yourselves accordingly.”

Wikileaks has posted its e-mail correspondence with Bank Julius Baer here.