...that the lawyers should be paying Dr. Mann for the privilege of taking his case against the Competitive Enterprise Institute and National Review!
Climatesciencewatch.org has the latest legal briefs, and they are pure popcorn-munching entertainment gold. Link here: http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/...
So throw a bag of popcorn into the microwave and then check out these juicy excerpts from those legal briefs (thanks again to climatesciencewatch):
In view of the defendants’ initial public bravado regarding Dr. Mann, their latest attempt to avoid a trial on this matter rings hollow--and basic principles of equity and fairness should estop them from now seeking an appeal. Defendants baited Dr. Mann to file this lawsuit. After he asked for a retraction and apology, the defendants told their readers that they would welcome a lawsuit because it would give them the opportunity to take discovery from Dr. Mann and his colleagues. They boasted they would hire dedicated staff to sift through that discovery and make it publicly available.1 They raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from their readers to pursue this discovery.2 They proclaimed they would “kick” Dr. Mann’s "legal heinie" in court.3
But now, after an impartial court has ruled that their attacks on Dr. Mann crossed the line, defendants are running for cover. Faced now with the prospect of financial liability for their gleeful tirades, defendants do not want discovery, as it would involve discovery into their own conduct. And they certainly do not want to face a jury of their peers.
.....
Plainly aware that such discovery will boomerang to their own backsides, the defendants are looking for an escape. But it is too late for that, and defendants’ hit and run tactics should not be countenanced. They asked for this lawsuit. They got it.
It's not often that a legal office has "Manna from Heaven" like this just land in its lap, and Mann's legal team is definitely having a great time with this case.
My only advice to Dr. Mann and his legal team is: When it comes time to collect damages, "grab the defendants by the ankles and shake the pennies loose".
Edit: I didn't include enough background about Dr. Mann for those who aren't familiar with him, so I'm reproducing this comment from below:
(Dr Mann is a) respected climate scientist whose emails were hacked and used by RW media (Fox et al.) to create "Climategate." (Lost my more extensive comment :( but more at wikipedia.) He's published in such prestigious journals as Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
5:58 PM PT: Just thought I'd highlight Kombema's comment -- and please do consider making a donation to the CSDF:
Climate Science Defense Fund, which is solely dedicated to supporting brilliant and dedicated climate scientists like Dr. Mann from these bullshit harassment efforts around the country. So buy a t-shirt, at least, if you can swing it! I got mine last month, and wear it proudly.
In their own words:
The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund was established to make sure that legal actions are not viewed as an attack against one scientist or institution but as attacks against the scientific endeavor as a whole. Our goal is simple: let scientists conduct research without the threat of politically motivated attacks.
It's particularly valuable for lower profile climatologists who are poor, lowly academics just doing their jobs, and particularly vulnerable to the crap being pulled by billionaire Koch Brothers (and other dooshbag)-funded Heartland Institute, Americans for Prosperity, AEI, and the many other asshole winger institutions looking to intimidate and silence real climate scientists.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
by Kombema
8:10 PM PT: For those who don't mind a little technical "shop-talk", there's a good "plain English" (well, as close as to "plain English" as you are likely to get with stuff like this) discussion of the flaws in one of the favorite "skeptic" attacks against Mann's hockey-stick: http://wottsupwiththatblog.wordpress.com/...
Pay particular attention to John Mashey's comments there. Although John Mashey isn't a climate-scientist, he has a lot of credibility in the science/technology community.