A case to watch

[bcholmes]

TORONTO - A right-wing political commentator should face trial for referring to a blogger as a Taliban supporter during a heated online exchange, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Thursday.

The unanimous decision set aside a lower court ruling that dismissed the case against Roger Smith, an active participant in the blogosphere and regular contributor to the conservative website FreeDominion.ca.

Smith was accused of defamation by John Baglow, who operates the left-leaning Dawg's Blawg and brought his case before the Superior Court of Justice last year.

The lower court ruled that the remarks _ made during a debate about Canadian Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr were not defamatory, since they represented a statement of opinion rather than fact. Justice Peter Annis also ruled the remarks did not constitute libel, since they were exchanged in the charged online environment where hostile barbs are considered routine.

However, the appeal court decision said such a question could not be decided without the closer examination offered by a trial, since the world of online commentary is relatively uncharted by the legal community.

"The responses may have far-reaching implications. They are best crafted on the basis of a full record after a trial – at least until the law evolves and crystallizes to a certain point," the three-judge panel said in its decision. "A trial will permit these important conclusions to be formulated on the basis of a record informed by the examination and cross-examination of witnesses and quite possibly with the assistance of expert evidence."

-- "Ontario court orders blog-based libel case to trial", Winnipeg Free Press