Many states have enacted statutes curtailing lawsuits designed to chill free speech. Known as anti-SLAPP statutes, these laws often include mechanisms to protect defendants from the burdens of litigation—for example, by allowing defendants to obtain a prompt dismissal through a special pre-trial motion, to avoid discovery and to recover their attorneys’ fees upon prevailing.

Congress has considered enacting a federal anti-SLAPP statute, but has yet to do so. As a result, federal courts have been deciding on a state statute-by-statute basis whether and to what extent state-law SLAPP protections apply in federal court.