Law Commons^™

Lmao; That Guy Is Such A &*%#!: Redefining Defamation Law's Stagnant Community Standard In A Rapidly Changing World, Daniel Lewis

Florida A & M University Law Review

Nearly forty years ago in the heat of the civil rights movement, the Supreme Court famously considered whether a Montgomery, Alabama Commissioner who supervised the Police Department was damaged by defamatory comments. In determining whether the false statements published in the New York Times article lowered the Commissioner's reputation and impeded his reelection chances, the court wrestled with defining the community in which these comments were published. Should the Supreme Court consider the allegedly defamatory comments within the scope of a national community, as the New York Times is a national publication, or was the correct community restrained to the …