Posted on 10/24/2003 10:14:40 AM PDT by Chancellor Palpatine
Edited on 10/24/2003 12:02:17 PM PDT by Lead Moderator. [history]
DEFAMATION -- LIBEL AND SLANDER
The First Amendment to the Constitution provides a broad right of freedom of speech. However, if a false statement has been made about you, you may have wondered if you could sue for defamation.
Generally, defamation consists of: (1) a false statement of fact about another; (2) an unprivileged publication of that statement to a third party; (3) some degree of fault, depending on the type of case; and (4) some harm or damage. Libel is defamation by the printed word and slander is defamation by the spoken word.
If the statement is made about a public official - for example, a police officer, mayor, school superintendent - or a public figure - that is a generally prominent person or a person who is actively involved in a public controversy, then it must be proven that the statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard for whether the statement was true or false. In other words, the fact that the statement was false is not enough to recover for defamation. On the other hand, if the statement was made about a private person, then it must be proven that the false statement was made without reasonable care as to whether the statement was true or false.
There are a number of defenses available in a defamation action. Of course, if a statement is true, there can be no action for defamation. Truth is a complete defense. Additionally, if the statement is an expression of an opinion as opposed to a statement of fact, there can be no action for defamation. We do not impose liability in this country for expressions of opinion. However, whether a statement will be deemed to be an expression of opinion as opposed to a statement of fact is not always an easy question to answer. For example, the mere fact that a statement is found in an editorial is not enough to qualify for the opinion privilege if the particular statement contained in the editorial is factual in nature.
There is also a privilege known as neutral reporting. For example, if a newspaper reports on newsworthy statements made about someone, the newspaper is generally protected if it makes a disinterested report of those statements. In some cases, the fact that the statements were made is newsworthy and the newspaper will not be held responsible for the truth of what is actually said.
There are other privileges as well. For example, where a person, such as a former employer, has a duty to make reports to other people and makes a report in good faith without any malicious intent, that report will be protected even though it may not be totally accurate.
Another example of a privilege is a report on a judicial proceeding. News organizations and others reporting on activities that take place in a courtroom are protected from defamation actions if they have accurately reported what took place.
If you think you have been defamed by a newspaper, magazine, radio or television station, you must make a demand for retraction before a lawsuit can be filed. If the newspaper, magazine, radio or television station publishes a retraction, you can still file suit, but your damages may be limited. Unless the media defendant acted with malice, bad faith or reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the story, you can only recover your actual damages. No punitive damages can be assessed in the absence of these elements.
An action for libel or slander must be brought within two years of the time the statements were made. If you wait beyond this two year period, any lawsuit will be barred.
Libel and slander cases are often very complicated. Before you decide to take any action in a libel or slander case, you should consult with an attorney. An attorney can help you decide whether you have a case and advise you regarding the time and expense involved in bringing this type of action.
(updated 12/01)
Bingo. If I had a prize to give, you'd get it.
No, the moral of the story is to know where your facts end and your beliefs and opinions begin, and phrase your posts accordingly.
Are you utterly incapable of being very mildly continent (i.e., not asserting specific motive to Michael Schiavo without solid proof of the allegation)
Circumstantial and observed evidence can lead to a strong assumptive conclusion of motive. You are not in any way proscribed from voicing that conclusion as an opinion...
Do you read FR much? What has been posted here recently is not much different than what is usually posted here on one topic or another. But trust me, it was much worse in '98 and '99 and in the 2000 election crisis.
So-called morality that isn't absolute isn't worth a bucket of warm spit. The act of taking a human life is either morally correct or incorrect, right or wrong, white or black, there are no shades of gray in that act. A person who takes human life will be judged either innocent or guilty by the only judge who can impose a sentence that will last for eternity with no possibility of parole.
There are several legitimate reasons for taking another person's life, self defense, national defense, etc. A disability which makes a person inconvenient to their spouse's future plans isn't one of those reasons.
Opinion? No problem.
Voicing it as conclusive fact? Big problem.
That's the entirety of the continence needed. Just state one's opinion as opinion instead of fact.
Gosh. Responsibility. What a concept...
RICHMOND, VA -- In an important development in Internet law, a Virginia court has ruled that a Pennsylvania judge's libel lawsuit against an anonymous website author cannot be brought in Virginia.
Although both the judge and the "John Doe" defendant live in Pennsylvania, the case was filed in Loudoun County, Virginia because the website is posted through America Online, Inc., whose corporate headquarters are in Virginia. While AOL is not a party to the suit, the judge's lawyer had asked the court to issue a subpoena to AOL to surrender the name of the person who operates the website.
The court today dismissed the entire case on jurisdictional grounds and quashed the subpoena for the name of John Doe.
The case arose when Pennsylvania State Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin found comments critical of her on a website entitled Grant Street 1999. The anonymous website author accused Judge Orie Melvin of lobbying on behalf of an attorney seeking a judgeship.
"Shame on Orie Melvin," the website author wrote, "this is exactly the kind of misconduct by our elected officials that the residents of Allegheny County will not stand for anymore...and a good reason why Judges should be held accountable for their actions and remembered at the polls at retention time."
In order to determine who had authored the comments, lawyers for Judge Orie Melvin filed suit in Loudoun County and asked the court there to issue a subpoena to AOL demanding the release of name of the subscriber who posted the website.
Representing the subscriber, the ACLU of Virginia argued both that Judge Orie Melvin lacked jurisdiction to bring the case in Virginia and that the First Amendment protected the right of the author to make anonymous remarks critical of a public official.
Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne ruled that his court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. In a decision issued late last week, the judge wrote: "The fact that America Online, a Virginia corporation with its principal place of business in Loudoun County, may offer subscribers the opportunity to engage in an open and continuous forum for communication throughout the world does not, consistent with due process, open the Courts of Commonwealth to actions such as the one under consideration."
Horne added that a "reasonable person would not expected to be 'haled' before a Court in the Commonwealth for the publication of material that could not with any degree of foreseeability evoke a response from one of its citizens."
Kent Willis, Executive Director of the ACLU of Virginia, said he hoped that the court's ruling would discourage any further "witch hunts" for anonymous speakers on the Internet.
"While the judge's legal reasoning is based on the right of due process, it is also an important victory for free speech," he said.
The author of the website was represented by Richard Ferris, Esq., Associate Director for the ACLU of Virginia, and ACLU cooperating attorney Rod Smolla, Esq. of the University of Richmond.
What's the "alternate site?" from your post?
I really don't know what you're talking about. Could you please give me one clue, one hint, as to what you're referring to?
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