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Full-Text Articles in Law
Sullivan's Paradox: The Emergence Of Judicial Standards Of Journalism, Brian C. Murchison
Sullivan's Paradox: The Emergence Of Judicial Standards Of Journalism, Brian C. Murchison
Brian C. Murchison
In this article, the authors examine the development of libel law in America since the Supreme Court's watershed decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan and suggest that Sullivan affords members of the press less protection than many think. Sullivan's actual malice standard invites judges to create norms of acceptable journalistic conduct for news gathering, which members of the press and their lawyers use as maps to navigate around libel liability. The authors examine a large number of these judicial decisions and note the types of journalistic conduct at issue and what conduct the courts view positively. The authors …
The Fact-Conjecture Framework In U.S. Libel Law: Four Problems, Brian C. Murchison
The Fact-Conjecture Framework In U.S. Libel Law: Four Problems, Brian C. Murchison
Brian C. Murchison
A requirement of U.S. defamation law is that an actionable statement be factual in nature, but courts since Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990), have had considerable difficulty in distinguishing factual from non-factual statements and in articulating the value of non-factual public discourse in all its diversity. This Article reviews four topics - intent, context, conjecture, and hyperbole - that have been particularly troublesome to courts. It argues for a fresh appraisal of Justice Brennan's dissenting opinion in Milkovich and brings into the conversation the works of several current political theorists on the contributions of passionate political …