1 Libel Law
2 Libel
Remember:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the government for a redress of grievances.
1st Amendment, US Constitution
3 The 1st Amendment
the states as well) about what the press can and can‘t report on (though some laws
have been enacted regarding pornography, particularly child pornography, and largely
address the crime against the child rather than the crime of publishing it, and public
safety issues like yelling ―fire‖ in a crowded theater).
4 Self-Regulation
-regulates‖ through widely accepted
codes of conduct.
5 When self-regulation fails…
t have the
reporters arrested, but they can…
…sue them for LIBEL!
This takes place in civil, rather than criminal, court, and involves monetary damages
rather than jail.
6 Libel is defined as…
Written, published or broadcast defamation of character.
Defamation means false or unjustified damage to one‘s reputation.
Slander is spoken defamation of character.
7 Libel ‗danger areas‘
―danger areas.‖ Words that…
– Imply commission of a crime
– Injure a person in his/her job
– Imply disease where none exists
– Damage a person‘s credit
– Imply a lack of chastity
– Incite public ridicule or contempt
– Indicate lack of mental capacity
8 Libel defenses
…TRUTH!
Called an ―absolute defense,‖ if what was written was true, even if it was within the
―danger areas,‖ a libel case will rarely be won. Defendents must, however, prove it is
true.
9 Other libel defenses
Fair comment — Largely protects reviewers. If you decide to participate in the public
market place, such as by opening a restaurant, then the media can critique your work
without fear of libel, even if their critique hurts your business. Also protects sports
columnists.
(However, if you write a bad review because you have personal animosity toward the
other person, you can be sued and will likely lose.)
10 Other libel defenses
Privileged statement – If the libelous material is heard at a public meeting of a
government body and repeated in the press, it is protected, even if false. You can‘t
falsely write that someone broke a law, but you can write that a gov‘t. official said he or
she broke the law.
Retraction – In cases where little actual damage has occurred, many courts will
accept simple retraction as enough to end a libel case.
11 Other libel defenses
Absence of Malice – Many courts have held that even if published material
is incorrect – especially material serving a public interest – if the reporter
performed due diligence in attempting to get the story correct he/she is
largely protected. Errors may have been made, but they were unintentional
and occurred despite good and solid reporting.
12 New York Times vs. Sullivan
cases.
actual malice – that the publisher of the statement in question knew that the
statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity.
13 New York Times vs. Sullivan
Alabama, for its police treatment of civil rights activists, some of which was
inaccurate.
llivan was a city commissioner responsible for the Police Department.
14 New York Times vs. Sullivan
-her public capacity. The
court wanted to make it easy to criticize public officials without fear of lawsuits.
First Amendment protected "uninhibited, robust, and wide-open" criticism of public officials, at least
unless it could be proved that the critic was deliberately lying or showed "reckless disregard" for the
truth.
public eye, such as activists.
15 Lesser defenses for libel
Consent – The harmed person said you could publish it.
Statute of limitations – The person waited too long to file suit (typically
waits a number of years to file).
16 Lesser defenses for libel
‘Anti-SLAPP’ statutes – Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.
Prevents individuals and organizations involved in controversial issues or issues in
the public interest from filing burdensome libel lawsuits to silence their critics.
Constitutional rights
of petition or free speech.
17 Anti-SLAPP examples…
an anti-SLAPP case because their complaints about the building were in the public interest.
-SLAPP cases after being sued by developers for
complaining about upcoming developments.
a coastal photography company for taking aerial photos
that included her property. She lost under anti-SLAPP.
18 Prior Restraint
from being published.
gon Papers‖ case (NYT vs. USA). A federal judge issued an injunction
ordering the NYT to stop publishing excerpts from a secret, leaked government report
about the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court overturned the injunction and said it was
unfair prior restraint. Set a fairly high ―national security‖ standard for such claims of prior
restraint.
19 Student press law
Tinker vs. Des Moines
Established First Amendment rights for high school students inside the
school building.
Case was about 2 students wearing black arm bands to protest the Vietnam
War.
20 Student press law
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, 1988 – Put limits on student newspaper press freedoms.
Held that principals and other school officials can practice prior restraint (censor
articles) if the paper has not traditionally operated as a ―public forum.‖
Dean vs. Utica Community Schools, 2004 – Further clarified the role of censorship in
school newspapers, saying that principals have less freedom to censor papers that act
as limited public forums (limited meaning directed at a specific audience).
21 The ‗Forum Theory‘
en forums,‖ are open to all expression that falls
under the 1st Amendment.
view, etc.
y content.
-public forums.‖ Such forums can be restricted
based on the content of the speech, but not based on viewpoint. Either ALL opinions are
published, or NO opinions are published.