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New York Times v. Sullivan : civil rights, libel law, and the free press / Kermit L. Hall and Melvin I. Urofsky

Author
Hall, Kermit L., 1944-2006
Additional Titles
New York Times versus Sullivan
Published
Lawrence, Kan. : University Press of Kansas, [2011]
Copyright Date
©2011
Physical Description
x, 222 pages ; 23 cm.
Additional Creators
Urofsky, Melvin I.

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Contents
A place in time -- "Lies, lies, lies" -- Trial by jury -- "Let 'em see the dogs work" -- The road to the Alabama Supreme Court -- A new game plan -- Briefing the court -- "May it please the court" -- "Uninhibited, robust, and wide-open".
Summary
When the New York Times published an advertisement that accused Alabama officials of willfully abusing civil rights activists, Montgomery police commissioner Lester Sullivan filed suit for defamation. Alabama courts, citing factual errors in the ad, ordered the Times to pay half a million dollars in damages. The Times appealed to the Supreme Court, which had previously deferred to the states on libel issues. The justices, recognizing that Alabama's application of libel law threatened both the nation's free press and equal rights for African Americans, unanimously sided with the Times. The decision introduced a new First Amendment test: a public official cannot recover damages for libel unless he proves that the statement was made with the knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false.-Publisher description.
Subject(s)
ISBN
9780700618026 (cloth : alk. paper)
0700618023 (cloth : alk. paper)
9780700618033 (pbk. : alk. paper)
0700618031 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-214) and index.
Source of Acquisition
Purchased with funds from the Paterno Libraries Endowment (Campus College Libraries); 2013
Endowment Note
Paterno Libraries Endowment (Campus College Libraries)
View MARC record | catkey: 7404529