RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN APPELLATE ADVOCACY

FIRST AMENDMENT AS A DEFENSE First Amendment defenses will have a growing impact on civil litigation. "14 Alvarez may prove particularly useful to tort defendants who cite that opinion in connection with Snyder v. Phelps,15 a 2010 decision that applied the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment as a defense to a state tort suit for intentional infliction of emotional distress.16 Other state tort laws may fall subject to First Amendment defenses as well. [...]even in civil cases, counsel should consider the possible priority of free speech considerations, particularly where a defendant's statements implicate matters of public interest.