American Aristocracy

“Some of their fellow-citizens acquired a power over the rest which might truly have been called aristocratic, if it had been capable of invariable transmission from father to son.”

—Alexis de Toqueville

(1840, 4)

INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

PUBLIC OFFICIALS

George Bush, Sr.

41st President

Jeff Sessions

U.S. Senator

Hilary Clinton

U.S. Secretary of State

Jan Brewer

Governor of Arizona

Public Officials

Gained interest because their occupation affects the public at the national, state, and/or local level

Recognized for knowledge, leadership skills, and charisma

INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

PUBLIC FIGURES

Ellen Pompeo

T.V. Actress

Kobe Bryant

Professional Basketball Player

Beyonce Knowles

Singer

Brad Pitt

Actor

Public Figures

Gained interest because their occupation interests the public

“The glamorous impersonates the ordinary.” — Laura Mulvey

(1975, 205)

INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

What is Defamation?

False & derogatory statements that injure reputation

Slander & libel

Tortus = twisted

INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

The Twists

The First Amendment vs. English common law

Private Individuals v. Public Figures/Officials

INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

English Common Law Tradition 1275 statute outlawing slander

between King & people

Penance vs. temporal grievance

Court of Star Chamber & birth of libel law

Importance of reputation in English society

— INTRO.

HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Defamation in the United States

“Congress shall make no law. . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”

The Sedition Act of 1798

Common law remained intact

— INTRO.

HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Officials Become Public Prior to 1896—no press

space in White House

Appearance of mass-circulation press

Theodore Roosevelt holds press conferences

After Watergate—shift in public interest

— INTRO.

HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Pres. Kennedy as a Public Official

The masquerade of Camelot in the 1960’s

Post-Watergate—reality of Kennedy’s private life

— INTRO.

HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Emergence of Public Figures

The Hollywood Studio Machine

The growth of tabloids

— INTRO.

HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

The facts of the case

Common law v.s. the First Amendment

Public officials & actual malice

A new American standard

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Time, Inc. v. Hill (1967)

Facts of the case

Not a libel suit

A matter of public interest

Hill as a public figure

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967)

Facts of the case

Butts as a public figure

Application of actual malice standard

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974)

Facts of the case

Gertz as a private citizen

Actual malice standard inapplicable

Treatment decided by the states

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps (1987)

Facts of the case

Common law and the burden of proof

The most constitutionally protected entity

Private citizens bear the burden

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

CASES

— ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

American Defamation Law & the Federal System

Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. (1990) — a framework

Burnett v. National Enquirer (1981) — kinds of malice

The categories of public officials and public figures

Differences in degree of fault

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

The Internet

Internet intermediaries

Communications Decency Act (1996)

Widespread anonymity; 55% of bloggers use pseudonyms.

An advanced version of a classical forum

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Remedies & Damages

Monetary awards

Declaratory relief

Self-Help

Right-of-Response statutes

Injunctive relief

Retraction

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Five Key Issues

1. First Amendment vs. common law

2. Public vs. private citizens

3. Differences between states

4. Defamation and the internet

5. Insufficiency of remedies

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

ISSUES

— SOLUTIONS

Proposed Solution to Issue One:

The First Amendment vs. Common Law Support New York

Times interpretation of First Amendment & common law

No actual malice requirement in declaratory relief claims

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

Proposed Solution to Issue Two:

Public vs. Private Distinction Categories needed

Recommend the courts redefine the major categories based on today’s social constructs

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

Thoughts on Issue Three:Differences Between States

Importance of enabling each state to craft its own defamation law

The national framework holds the law in place

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

Proposed Solution to Issue Four:

Defamation & the Internet Support Solove’s

proposal for exhausting informal mechanisms when the defendant is not a repeat offender or part of a broadcast or print-media publication

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

Proposed Solutions to Issue Five:

Insufficiency of Remedies Support a loser-pay-all

system

Believe declaratory relief issued in the same publication the defamatory statement was released as the most sufficient remedy

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

Final Thoughts

The twist in defamation law cannot be fully straightened because of its very nature, but perhaps, it can be slightly untwisted with new revision of the old law.

— INTRO.

— HISTORY

— CASES

— ISSUES

SOLUTIONS

Major Sources Collins, Matthew. 2005. The Law of Defamation and the Internet. New York, N.Y.:

Oxford University Press, INC. Curtis Publishing Company v Butts, 388 US 130 (1967)

<http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgibin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=388&invol=13> (accessed 20 September 2009).

Gertz v. Robert Welch, INC., 418 US 323 (1974) < http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=418&invol=323> (accessed 19 September

2009). Kupferman, Theodore R. ed. 1990. Defamation: Libel and Slander: Readings from

Communication and the Law, I. Westport, Connecticut: Meckler Corporation. Milo, Dario. 2008. Defamation and Freedom of Speech. New York, N.Y.: Oxford

University Press. Mulvey, Laura. 1975. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” In The Routledge

Critical and Cultural Theory Reader. 2008. Eds. Neil Badmington and Julia Thomas. New York, N.Y.: Routledge. 202-212.

New York Times Company v. Sullivan, 376 US 254 (1964) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=376&invol=254>

(accessed 20 September 2009). Philadelphia Newspapers, INC v. Hepps, 475 US 767 (1987)

<http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case=/us/475/767.html> (accessed 19 September 2009).

Major Sources Schwartz, Victor E., Kathryn Kelly, and David F. Partlett. 2005. Prosser, Wade, and

Schwartz’s Torts: Eleventh Edition. New York, N.Y.: Foundation Press. Siegel, Paul. 2008. Communication Law in America: Second Edition. New York,

N.Y.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC. Smolla, Rodney A. 1986. Suing the Press. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press,

INC. Solove, Daniel J. 2007. The Future of Reputation. New Haven, C.T.: Yale University

Press. Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 U.S. 374 (1967)

<http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgibin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=385&invol=374> (accessed 19 September 2009).

Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1840. “Equality of Condition.” In Classic Readings in American Politics: 3rd Edition. 1999. Eds. Pietro S. Nivola and David H. Rosenbloom. New York, N.Y.: Worth Publishers INC. 3-8.

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