Libel Law

This paper will discuss recent changes in American libel law. Specifically, the text will analyze some of the more important U.S. Supreme Court cases which affected libel cases. Defamation is a concept which originated in the English common law. The First Amendment did not begin to influence defamation laws in the United States until very recently (Franklin, 1992, p. 74). Since cases like the New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the U.S. Supreme Court has made a continued effort to determine the proper balance between the right of free communication and the right to protect reputation.

In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, a police commissioner demanded a retraction against the New York Times newspaper for an advertisement that claimed the police tear-gassed an Alabama state college campus. The police were called after a group of student protesters sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on the campus steps. Commissioner Sullivan sued because he believed the reference to the "police" included him since he supervised the police in Alabama (Franklin, 1982, p. 109).

Sullivan won $500,000 in damages from the Alabama Supreme Court. However, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed this decision, holding that the plaintiff Sullivan had to prove that the New York Times had knowledge that the ad was false. This landmark opinion changed libel law in the United States because, after Justice Brennan's opinion of the Court in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, actual malice had to

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nce in publishing things about private citizens. He thought that the requirement that a plaintiff prove malice should exist in cases which involve public official, public figures or private citizens. Justices Douglas and Brennan also dissented, and Douglas was particularly concerned that, if the First Amendment continued to be eroded, reasonable men "would refrain from speaking" (Franklin, 1982, pp. 135-136). In 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court heard another case which changed libel law. In the Herbert v. Lando case, a public figure sued the producer and reporter of "60 Minutes" and the CBS network for remarks about his military career which were made on the program. The show's producer, Lando, stated during deposition that he would not answer questions about why he made certain investigations or followed certain leads but not others. Lando also refused to answer questions about people he interviewed for the story and conversations which he had with his reporter, Mike Wallace. The producer claimed that his thoughts as a journalist, which he used to prepare the program, were protected by the First Amendment (Franklin, 1982, p. 145). Since Herbert wanted the producer of 60 Minutes to recall exactly what he had in mind when p

Category: Government - L