Overview

Supreme Court
Professional Real Estate Investors, Inc. v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., 508 U.S. 49 (1993)
McDonald v. Smith, 472 U.S. 479 (1985)
California Motor Transport Co. v. Trucking Unlimited, 404 U.S. 508 (1972)
United Mine Workers v. Pennington, 381 U.S. 657 (1965)
Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, 365 U.S. 127 (1961)
United States v. Harriss, 347 U.S. 612 (1954)
Hague v. C.I.O., 307 U.S. 496 (1939)

Lawson, Gary, and Seidman, Guy, “Downsizing the Right to Petition,” 93 Nw. L. Rev. 739 (1999)
Mark, Gregory A., “The Vestigial Constitution: The History and Significance of the Right to Petition,” 66 Fordham L. Rev. 2153 (1998)
Pfander, James E., “Sovereign Immunity and the Right to Petition: Toward a First Amendment Right to Pursue Judicial Claims Against the Government,” 91 Nw U. L. Rev. 899 (1997)
Spanbauer, Julie M., “The First Amendment Right to Petition Government for a Redress of Grievances: Cut from a Different Cloth,” 21 Hastings Const. L. Q. 15 (1993)
Smith, Norman B., “'Shall Make No Law Abridging …': An Analysis of the Neglected, But Nearly Absolute, Right of Petition,” 54 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1153 (1986)
Higginson, Stephen A., “A Short History of the Right to Petition Government for the Redress of Grievances,” 96 Yale L. J. 142 (1986)

Findlaw Constitutional Law Center, First Amendment Annotations
Excerpt from the Magna Carta relating to Petition
Excerpted debates in the House of Representatives regarding the “gag rule” imposed on petitions to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, 1836

SLAPP suits

Supreme Court
United Mine Workers v. Pennington, 381 U.S. 657 (1965)
Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, 365 U.S. 127 (1961)
Professional Real Estate Investors v. Columbia Pictures, 508 U.S. 49 (1993)
Columbia v. Omni Outdoor Advertising, 499 U.S. 365 (1991)

Other
Protect Our Mountain Environment, Inc. v. District Court, 677 P.2d 1361 (Colo. 1984)
Oregon Natural Resources Council v. Mohla, 944 F.2d 531, 533 (9th Cir. 1991)
Gordon v. Marrone, 590 N.Y.S.2d 649, 656 (1992)

Anti-SLAPP statutes: state summary

Pring, George, and Canan, Penelope, SLAPPs: Getting Sued for Speaking Out (Temple University Press, 1996) — see esp. pp.18, 148

California Anti-SLAPP Project Web site includes list of states with laws protecting SLAPP victims
First Amendment Project's "Guarding Against the Chill: A Survival Guide for SLAPP Victims," guidebook for SLAPP defendants, co-written with California Anti-SLAPP Project
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 11
Environmental Defender Law Center: Nonprofit organization that enlists American law firms to work pro bono in defending against SLAPP suits in the U.S. involving environmental issues

Right to sue

Supreme Court
Bill Johnson’s Restaurants v. NLRB, 461 U.S. 731 (1983)
California Motor Transport Co. v. Trucking Unlimited, 404 U.S. 508 (1972)
Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371 (1971)
United Mine Workers v. Pennington, 381 U.S. 657 (1965)
NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, 365 U.S. 127 (1961)

Other
Landmarks Holding Corp. v. Bermant, 664 F.2d 891 (1981)
Missouri v. NOW, 620 F.2d 1301 (1980)