LIBEL HYPOTHETICALS

First Amendment first  — Think about the basic Constitutional commitment to free speech and press and the case precedents that follow. Many students who are new to libel and privacy hypotheticals tend to err on the side of caution, but US courts usually err on the side of free speech.  Only two of the eight libel hypotheticals below are obviously libelous.    

Analysis  — Ask these questions as you consider the situations below.  

  1. Elements:  Are the 5 elements of libel present?  (Publication / Broadcast; Identification; Defamation; Fault; and Damages).
  2. Defenses: Can any of the main libel defenses be applied?  (Truth, Privilege, Fair Comment & Criticism)
  3. Public / Private: Is the plaintiff a public figure or a private figure? (Will the courts apply the public figure Sullivan “actual malice” standard or is this a private person for whom the courts will apply a simple negligence standard?)
  4. Case law:  What similar cases are there that can help guide your decision making process?
  5.  Mitigation: If you have made a mistake, what can you do to mitigate damages?
  6. Motion to Dismiss:  If you are in a strong position, should you ask the court to dismiss the case before it goes to trial?
  7. Ethical issues:  Even if you are in the clear legally, have you considered the ethical issues such as minimizing harm  and having compassion for those who may be affected adversely by the media.  (See 6.3 Professional Ethics at this this site).

 Libel situations.  Your law firm has been asked to analyze these seven situations below.  Using the analysis above, write several sentences per case about    Turn in via D2L drop box.

  1. The student government association president tells the student  newspaper editor that she should edit out quotes in her story,  since he didn’t give her permission to use them in the student newspaper. The quotes are from an open session of the SGA; they are accurate, and they simply reflect budgets and the ordinary business of the SGA. No one was discussed in a negative way. Should the editor do what the SGA president wants and drop the quotes from her story?
  2. The Blessed Punks, billed as a Christian folk rock group, play on campus, and the review for your student publication says that the only religious part of the experience was the wailing of damned souls coming from the stage. The university concert coordinator decides not to invite them back, saying students didn’t like them, as shown by your review.  They file a lawsuit for libel. How much should you be worried?
  3.  A retired high school teacher, Mary Sue Smith, is arrested and charged with shoplifting. She is suspended from her job and suffers ridicule from other teachers. You publish a story and with facts   recorded accurately from the police blotter. She sues for libel. What should you do?
  4. Let’s say the same high school teacher is inaccurately identified on your web site. Her name is not Mary Sue Smith, it’s Mary Roberta Smith. You check the police blotter and sure enough, you made a mistake when you wrote down the name. You had a few days to check it, but you didn’t.  So now Mary S. Smith is suing for libel.  What do you do?
  5. In court testimony, the president of your university says that Frank Mann, a scientist at your university, has been engaged in criminal fraud for using state funds to pursue research into climate change. You publish the accusation accurately after double checking with the court record. Meanwhile, the university president backs off and says it was all just a misunderstanding.   Now the professor is suing your publication  for libel.  What should you do?
  6. A freelancer has published an article accusing the mayor of dealing drugs. It appears on one of your news organization’s blog sites. As the editor, you ask the freelancer about it, and it turns out that the allegations were made by a confidential source that the reporter can’t name. The reporter has no evidence but says it doesn’t matter because the mayor is corrupt anyway.   What do you do?
  7. An advertisement placed by an extreme political group  accuses a  state legislator of “high treason.”  The reason for the accusation is the legislator’s support for gay rights and opposition to gun rights.  The state legislator is thinking about a libel suit? What should you do?
  8. A video of a security guard being arrested and handcuffed on charges of child molesting is shown on your news program. You report only  the facts of the arrest, but it turns out that the arrest was the result of a parent’s complaint about a shoplifting search.  The charges against the guard are dismissed, but she is so embarrassed that she sues your organization anyway in an attempt to recover her reputation.  Is this libel? What legal or ethical actions might you take?