Law: Private People

Easing the way for libel suits

For more than a decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has been trying to balance the public's right to know and the individual's right to protect his reputation. The court did not want to stop people who had been defamed from suing for libel. But at the same time, it wanted to make sure that the risk of costly libel suits would not prevent the press from publishing stories of public interest. So, in a line of cases going back to New York Times vs. Sullivan in 1964, the court...

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