Libel Law

In America, libel law is especially in-depth, and libel cases are extremely hard to win. Why is this the situation with American libel/defamation law?

Dating back to 1964, the Supreme Court's landmark case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan set the groundwork and standards for modern-day American libel law.

L.B. Sullivan was the police commissioner in Montgomery, Alabama, who sued the New York Times after they ran a full-page civil rights advertisement. This ad stated that Montgomery Police were mistreating civil rights protestors, specifically supporters of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Eventually Sullivan was determined to be the victor in this case, as the high court came to a unanimous 9-0 decision in his favor. For defamatory actions, the New York Times was forced to compensate Sullivan $500,000 in damages. This case led to an entirely new branch of First Amendment law regarding defamation and libel, and classified how future proceedings must go on.

NYT v. Sullivan gave us 7 legal innovations. First, it made libel law now common law through constitutionalizing it. This means that libel cases live in each state's court level, rather than having a federal common law.

Next, this case brought an end to seditious libel. Prior to 1964, the federal government was able to punish citizens for outlandish statements or for openly criticizing the government. That became old news fast, giving citizens more 1A protections.

In addition, NYT v. Sullivan saw the creation of 2 separate plaintiff categories: Public Official and Private Person. A Public Official is defined as a government employee.

NYT v. Sullivan also brought about the end of the strict liability standard of fault. In short, if you said something you're accused of, then you're automatically guilty.

This case also led to the creation of the "Actual Malice" standard of fault (as opposed to negligence). Actual Malice is defined as a knowledge of falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth, while negligence is a failure to take ordinary or reasonable care.

Lastly, NYT v. Sullivan affirmed TRUTH as an absolute defense, and also paved the way for the previously mentioned realizations in the Virginia Board of Pharmacy case.

Libel cases in America also have 6 essential elements, where it is the burden of the accuser to prove all 6 features. The content in question must be defamatory and qualify as libel per se, meaning that it shows illegal activity, professional incompetence, a moral failing, or a communicable disease. The content must also have 3rd party recognition, being identifiable by outside actors or the general public. The publication must be made public, while the author of the publication must also have fault. Injury to a reputation must be proven as well, in addition to the falsity of the claim. All of these aforementioned elements are prerequisites necessary for any libel case to be won by the plaintiff.

In conclusion, libel cases in modern America are a very complex framework and are very narrowly-tailored, in order to be tough to put through court. This allows for greater First Amendment protections for the general population, as it is very difficult to successfully claim libel or defamation against another person.