Libel Cases
Texas Libel Cases
Other Issues
Libel Cases
What was libel law like before New York Times v. Sullivan?
We talked about eight libel cases decided by the Supreme Court. Be sure you have a good understanding of the fact situations in each of the cases. Also, be sure you know how the Supreme Court ruled in each of the cases. The cases are:
New York Times v. Sullivan
Garrison v. Louisiana
Curtis Publishing Company v. Butts and AP v. Walker
Rosenbloom v. Metromedia
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
Time v. Firestone
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
Milkovich v. Lorain Journal
What did the Supreme Court rule in New York Times v. Sullivan?Garrison v. Louisiana
Curtis Publishing Company v. Butts and AP v. Walker
Rosenbloom v. Metromedia
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
Time v. Firestone
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
Milkovich v. Lorain Journal
How did the court define malice?
Can a person successfully sue for libel even though they are not named?
Can an advertisement be the subject of a libel action?
Give examples of each of these from cases we have covered.
Although Justice Hugo Black voted with the majority in Times v. Sullivan, he was in favor of an entirely different approach to libel. What was that?
What practice was ended by Garrison v. Louisiana?
The Supreme Court in three cases put public officials, public figures and private citizens (involved in an event of public interest) under this umbrella: that they had to prove malice to collect for damages.
Name the cases involved in each of those areas:
What class of people were affected by New York Times v. Sullivan?
In Curtis v. Butts and Associated Press v. Walker, the Sullivan decision was extended to what class of people?
In the Butts/Walker opinion, the Supreme Court ruled one way for Butts and another way against Walker. Explain the court's reasoning in doing that.
In an effort to define malice more specifically, the court injected an explanatory note about malice in the Butts/Walker opinion. What was that?
(The court said the determining factor in reckless disregard should be “accepted publishing standards.)
In Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, the Sullivan and Butts/Walker decisions were extended to what class of people?
But the Supreme Court changed the definition of a public figure in Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. What did the court say about the difference in public figures and private individuals? Also in Gertz, the court changed the conditions under which a private citizen may recover damages in a libel action. What was the change?
(Answers to the above questions: First the court ruled that Gertz was not a public figure in this particular instance. Then the court ruled that a private citizen does not have to meet the actual malice standard of Times v. Sullivan to recover damages. The court said the standard for determining defamation was "actual injury." But, if malice is proved, the court said, the private citizen may collect punitive damages.)
The Supreme Court ruled that Mary Alice Firestone was a private citizen. What was so unusual about such a ruling?
How did Hustler magazine arouse the ire of Jerry Falwell?
What was unusual about the verdict in the trial court?
What did Chief Justice Rehnquist say in the Falwell opinion?
(He said, "But in the world of debate about public affairs, many things done with motives that are less than admirable are protected by the First Amendment.")
What’s the name of the movie made about this case? Who starred in the movie? Why is Larry Flynt (like, say, Jay Near before him) an example of how the law works in matters such as this?
What was the essence of the ruling in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal?
What about using words such as allegedly and reportedly? Based on the Milkovich decision, would they provide any safeguard against libel?
A Postscript:
The John Henry Faulk case is among the cases we have talked about that didn't reach the Supreme Court. Why, historically, was it such a significant case? What practice was ended by the outcome?
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Texas Libel Cases
Describe the circumstances that led to the criminal complaint against Vic Feazell and then to his suit against WFAA-TV.
Who was Feazell and what role did Henry Lee Lucas play in this case?
What was Feazell accused of doing?
What led to the suit by MMAR against The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones)? What is significant about the jury verdict in that case? How did the case end?
What did KTRK-TV do that resulted in the suit by Sylvester Turner?
Who is/was Sylvester Turner? Who is/was Wayne Dolcefino?
How did this case finally end?
What was unusual about the Texas Supreme Court ruling in the case?
What was the Veggie Libel Law?
Who were the plaintiffs and the defendant in the case?
What did the jury decide? What did the appeals court say?
Why was this case heard in federal court?
What is to be learned from the suit Raymundo Davila brought against The Corpus Christi Caller-Times?
El Paso Times v. Richard C. Trexler dealt with a letter to the editor.
What is to be learned from that case?
What was the legal issue in John E. Foster v. Laredo Newspapers, Inc.?
What one word created the case of Denton Publishing Company v. D.B. Boyd? How did the concept of privilege enter the case?
Was the statement at issue privileged? Why, or why not?
How would the outcome of the Denton case had been different if the question of privilege had been clearly established?
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Other Issues/A Review
How did the concept of privacy originate?
What was the issue in Griswold v. Connecticut?
How did the ruling in the Griswold case lead to Roe v. Wade?
How did the Time v. Hill case originate?
What was the name of the book, play and later, two movies?
Who represented the Hill family before the Supreme Court?
What did the court rule in the case?
What was the issue in the Minersville v. Gobitis in 1940 and in W.V. Board
of Education v. Barnette in 1943?
What did the Supreme Court rule in Minersville v. Gobitis?
What did the court rule in W.Va. Board of Education v. Barnette?
What was the significant statement of constitutional principle that
Justice Robert H. Jackson made in the Barnette case?
How did the court rule in the flag-burning cases?
What was the fact situation in Texas v. Johnson?
What was the issue and how did the court rule in R.A.V. v. St. Paul?
How did the court rule in 2003 in the cross burning cases from Virginia?
What did the Supreme Court rule in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmier and
in Morse v. Frederick? What was the effect of those rulings on Tinker
v. Des Moines?
As a result of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmier and Morse v. Frederick, how much freedom do students in public school have?
Where did the concept of separation of church and state originate?
What is acceptable now, in view of the Supreme Court rulings, regarding prayer in public schools?
What is the law in Texas? To what extent is it mandatory?
What is the pledge to the Texas flag?
What was the issue in Lee v. Weisman, and how did the Supreme Court rule?
Where did the case involving prayer at public school athletic events
originate? What was the issue? What did the Supreme Court rule?
What would you say to someone who says that neither the right of privacy nor the separation of church and state is in the Constitution?
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