Libel & Slander Laws
Libel and slander are forms of defamation. Defamation is making a statement that harms someone's reputation. U.S. libel and slander laws seek to balance the protection of individual reputations with the speaker's right to free speech under the First Amendment.
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Defamation
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Libel is a written defamatory statement; slander is an oral defamatory statement. Defamatory statements are defined as being detrimental to the reputation of the subject of the statement.
Elements of Defamation
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Each jurisdiction has its own defamation laws, but a defamation suit typically requires that the defendant have made a defamatory statement about the plaintiff, and that the defendant communicated the statement to a third party who understood it.
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The Truth Defense
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In most jurisdictions, if the person who made the defamatory statement can prove that the statement was true, the truth is a complete defense to a defamation action. However, some jurisdictions also require good intentions on the part of the speaker in making the statement.
First Amendment
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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment to the Constitution demands that in a defamation suit by a "public figure," the defamatory statement must not only be false, but made by someone who should have or did know it was false.
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References
Resources
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