He played a minimal role at the coroner's inquest, and his participation related solely to his representation of a private client. The law governing the defamation of private citizens remained untouched by the First Amendment, because, until relatively recently, the consistent view of the Court was that libelous words constitute a class of speech wholly unprotected by the First Amendment, subject only to limited exceptions carved out since 1964.But now, using that Amendment as the chosen instrument, the Court, in a few printed pages, has federalized major aspects of libel law by declaring unconstitutional in important respects the prevailing defamation law in all or most of the 50 States. Thus, were Congress to pass a blatantly invalid law such as one prohibiting newspaper editorials critical of the Government, a publisher might be punished for advocating its violation. The standard announced today leaves the States free to "define for themselves the appropriate standard of liability for a publisher or broadcaster" in the circumstances of this case. As part of the continuing effort to alert the public to this assumed danger, the managing editor of American Opinion commissioned an article on the murder trial of Officer Nuccio. As Mr. Justice Harlan stated,"some antithesis between freedom of speech and press and libel actions persists, for libel remains premised on the content of speech and limits the freedom of the publisher to express certain sentiments, at least without guaranteeing legal proof of their substantial accuracy." This argument overlooks the possible enactment of statutes, not requiring proof of fault, which provide for an action for retraction or for publication of a court's determination of falsity if the plaintiff is able to demonstrate that false statements have been published concerning his activities. Thus, it is often true that not all of the considerations which justify adoption of a given rule will obtain in each particular case decided under its authority.With that caveat, we have no difficulty in distinguishing among defamation plaintiffs. U.S. 374, 388
The article purports to demonstrate that the testimony against Nuccio at his criminal trial was false, and that his prosecution was part of the Communist campaign against the police.In his capacity as counsel for the Nelson family in the civil litigation, petitioner attended the coroner's inquest into the boy's death and initiated actions for damages, but he neither discussed Officer Nuccio with the press nor played any part in the criminal proceeding. Of course, juries must be limited by appropriate instructions, and all awards must be supported by competent evidence concerning the injury, although there need be no evidence which assigns an actual dollar value to the injury.We also find no justification for allowing awards of punitive damages against publishers and broadcasters held liable under state-defined standards of liability for defamation. As Mr. Justice Harlan hypothesized, "it might seem, purely as an abstract matter, that the most utilitarian approach would be to scrutinize carefully every jury verdict in every libel case, in order to ascertain whether the final judgment leaves fully protected whatever First Amendment values transcend the legitimate state interest in protecting the particular plaintiff who prevailed." And it has essentially fulfilled its role. And it exacts a correspondingly high price from the victims of defamatory falsehood. The owners of the press and the stockholders of the communications enterprises can much better bear the burden. It is difficult for me to understand why the ordinary citizen should himself carry the risk of damage and suffer the injury in order to vindicate First Amendment values by protecting the press and others from liability for circulating false information. But this catch-phrase has no talismanic significance and is almost meaningless in this context where the Court appears to be addressing those libels and slanders that are defamatory on their face and where In Rosenbloom Mr. Justice Harlan modified these views.
Why a defamatory statement is more apt to cause injury if the lie is intentional than when it is only negligent, I fail to understand. The Court considered this question on the rather different set of facts presented in Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc., . This Court, in its continuing delineation of variegated mantles of First Amendment protection, is, like the potential publisher, left with only speculation on how jury findings were influenced by the effect the subject matter of the publication had upon the minds and viscera of the jury. I did so because I concluded that, given New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc.,
At the time of the adoption of the First Amendment, many of the consequences of libel law already described had developed, particularly the rule that libels and some slanders were so inherently injurious that they were actionable without special proof of damage to reputation. According to the article, the police file on petitioner took "a big, Irish cop to lift." 7536, 222, p. 48 (1948).If I read the Court correctly, it clearly implies that, for those publications that do not make "substantial danger to reputation apparent," the A recent study has comprehensively detailed the role and impact of mass communications in this Nation. Damages for libel or slander per se included "harm caused thereby to the reputation of the person defamed or in the absence of proof of such harm, for the harm which normally results from such a defamation."
Whether there is a privilege for good faith defamatory misstatements on matters of public concern or whether there is strict liability for such statements may not greatly affect the course of public discussion. At the very least, the issue is highly debatable, and the Court has not carried its heavy burden of proof to justify tampering with state libel laws. Audio Transcription for Opinion Announcement - June 25, 1974 in Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc. Warren E. Burger: The disposition in number 72-617, Gertz against Welch will be announced by Mr. Justice Powell. Some occupy positions of such persuasive power and influence that they are deemed public figures for all purposes.
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