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title: "In many ways, the ACLU has lost its way, but it still sometimes does…"
date: 2019-09-30
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
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# In many ways, the ACLU has lost its way, but it still sometimes does…

*September 30, 2019 · Facebook*

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[https://www.aclu.org/cases/sarkar-v-doe-pubpeer-subpoena-challenge](https://www.aclu.org/cases/sarkar-v-doe-pubpeer-subpoena-challenge){target="_blank"}
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In many ways, the ACLU has lost its way, but it still sometimes does good work.\
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\"The ACLU filed a motion in Michigan state court challenging the constitutionality of a subpoena issued to the website PubPeer demanding that it turn over the identities of anonymous commenters. In March 2015, the trial judge ruled that PubPeer had to unmask one -- but only one -- of the commenters. Both PubPeer and the researcher appealed, and the ruling was upheld in December 2016.\
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PubPeer hosts anonymous discussion of scientific journal articles. A cancer scientist has sued several of those anonymous commenters for defamation and issued a subpoena to PubPeer demanding their identities. The ACLU -- along with its Michigan affiliate and Jollymore Law Office, P.C. -- challenged the subpoena, arguing that the First Amendment protects the anonymity of PubPeer's commenters unless the plaintiff can make a preliminary showing of merit to his claims. In the motion to quash the subpoena, filed in December 2014, the ACLU argued that the plaintiff could not make that showing. In March 2015, a Michigan judge ruled that PubPeer is not required to unmask the commenters, save for one. Both parties requested a review by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which upheld the ruling in December 2016.\"\
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[https://www.aclu.org/cases/sarkar-v-doe-pubpeer-subpoena-challenge](https://www.aclu.org/cases/sarkar-v-doe-pubpeer-subpoena-challenge){target="_blank"}
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