In District Court in Iowa City, I tried to file a John Doe et. al; In Forma Pauperis & Pro Se; Libel Tort. The Judge refused to allow the John Doe nature of the case; Stating that he needed to know who the defendants were, and that they had to be residents of Iowa for the case to be brought. He would not even allow the case to be filed, and then dismiss it, so I could appeal. So if you live in Iowa, anyone not in the state, can post on the internet the most untrue defamatory statements, and there is nothing you can do about it.

Free Speech, it's somewhere around the 1st Amendment.

So you do not mind if I were to post that, you are a child molester?

I can certainly understand this is a frustrating situation for you. Generally, you have to name the person (or entity) you believe to be responsible for the harm alleged. You can add a "does 1 through 100" in the event you find ADDIITIONAL parties to be invovled. Depending on your particular situation, an attorney may seek to compel the website owner to disclose the identity of the accused. However, the courts haven't been clear about whether such disclosure of identity can be compelled.

I suggest you contact an attorney to determine your legal options regarding tracking down some defendants and whether or not you have a valid claim. You can find an attorney through the locator service on LawInfo’s home page at: http://www.lawinfo.com/.

You can also browse through the information in LawInfo’s Free Legal Resource Center here: http://www.lawinfo.com/index.cfm/fus...lient.consumer, or search for your particular topic here: http://resources.lawinfo.com/index.html.


http://resources.lawinfo.com/Search.html?q=defamation

I have consulted numerous attorneys, and I have argued a case in Southern District in Iowa and won. So when I say that the jurisdiction aspect of it has already been decided in Calder v. Jones 465 U.S. 783, 804 S. Ct. 1482(1984) they came up with an “effects test”.
As for the John Doe aspect of it, Joan Melvin v. John Doe et al; the case was allowed to be filed, and then thoroughly reviewed. And an opinion handed down. I included user names with all of the posting printed right from the web site. All I was asking for at the time was an order to file In Forma Pauperis & Pro Se. After reviewing the case 15min, he told me that he would not even accept it.

Well, for libel to hold it would true there are several things that must take place. A-it must be known or should be known to be untrue and that such statements would be damaging to me. (I am not a child molestor) B-it must damage my reputation. (Since this is an anonymous forum my personal life is not affected, and if need be, I can report the violation to the webmaster and simply change user id).

Fry v. John Doe = Matthew P. O' Dea
Plaintiff: Kenneth Ralph Fry
Defendant: John Doe= Matthew P. O' dea

Case Number: 3:2008cv00049
Filed: May 1, 2008

Court: Iowa Southern District Court
Office: Davenport Office [ Court Info ]
County: Johnson
Presiding Judge: Senior Judge Charles R. Wolle
Referring Judge: Magistrate Judge Ross A. Walters

Nature of Suit: Torts - Injury - Assault, Libel, and Slander
Cause: 28:1332 Diversity-Libel,Assault,Slander
Jurisdiction: Federal Question

The Honorable Senior Judge Wolle handed down a $15,000 judgment in April 2010.

Thanks for keeping us up to date.