School librarian Amanda Jones has filed the first legal brief in her appeal of the defamation suit against those who launched personal attacks against her after she spoke out at a public library board meeting. A judge ruled against her original lawsuit in September 2022.

The 2021 School Librarian of the Year posted the update of her case on her website.

"July 19th marked the one-year anniversary of the public library board meeting where I gave a speech on censorship as a resident of my community," Jones wrote. "What followed was a targeted campaign to smear my reputation, but I decided to fight back and filed a defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit was dismissed by a judge, which sent an unfortunate message that it is okay to harass librarians and educators by spreading lies about them online and across their communities. I decided that is NOT okay. On behalf of myself, and others who are unable to stand up for themselves, I am proud to announce that we have officially filed the first legal brief for my appeal in the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal. Should we not prevail on appeal, we will be appealing to the Louisiana Supreme Court. All I am asking for is $1 and a public apology."

The brief charged the trial judge acted "erroneously" in the dismissal.

"A trial judge deciding a special motion to strike cannot weigh evidence, assess credibility, or resolve disputed issues of material fact," the brief states. "The trial judge erroneously did that here, crediting Defendants’ own representations of disputed facts and forming her own opinions on how a reasonable person might understand Defendants’ words. The trial judge impermissibly resolved in Defendants’ favor questions that belong to a jury.

"A jury should decide this case, and this Court should let it."

In her post, Jones also announced that she is returning to her position in the school library after taking a medical sabbatical at the end of last year.