finding actual malice lacking where the defendant published a source's false statements about a public officer but the defendant had no personal knowledge that the statements were false, had verified other aspects of the source's information, and had affidavits from other sources substantiating the statements
How later courts described this case
- finding actual malice lacking where the defendant published a source's false statements about a public officer but the defendant had no personal knowledge that the statements were false, had verified other aspects of the source's information, and had affidavits from other sources substantiating the statements
- stating that “reckless conduct is not measured by whether a reasonably prudent man would have published, or would have investigated before publishing” and “[tjhere must be sufficient evidence to permit the conclusion that the defendant in fact entertained serious doubts as to the truth of his publication”
- concluding that evidence that the publishers “were on a mission to reinstate the ban against women being assigned to combat positions in the military does not suffice to show actual malice,” and that acting on the “basis of a biased source and incomplete information” does not show actual malice
- finding that the record was insufficient to support actual malice, due in part to the plaintiff’s failure to offer “evidence to demonstrate a low community assessment of [the source’s] trustworthiness or unsatisfactory experience with him by [ the defendant]”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
Me. Justice Foetas,
dissenting.
I do not believe that petitioner satisfied the minimal standards of care specified by New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U. S. 254 (1964). The affidavit that petitioner broadcast contained a seriously libelous statement directed against respondent. Respondent was a public official. He was not petitioner’s adversary in the political contest. Petitioner’s casual, careless, callous use of the libel cannot be rationalized as resulting from the heat of a campaign. Under New York Times, this libel was broadcast by petitioner with “actual malice” — with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. The principle of Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts, 388 U. S. 130 (1967), in my opinion, should lead us to affirmance here.
The First Amendment is not so fragile that it requires us to immunize this kind of reckless, destructive invasion of the life, even of public officials, heedless of their interests and sensitivities. The First Amendment is not a shelter for the character assassinator, whether his action is heedless and reckless or deliberate. The First Amendment does not require that we license shotgun attacks on public officials in virtually unlimited open season. The occupation of public officeholder does not forfeit one’s membership in the human race. The public official should be subject to severe scrutiny and to free and open criticism. But if he is needlessly, heedlessly, falsely accused of crime, he should have a remedy in law. New York Times does not preclude this minimal standard of civilized living.
Petitioner had a duty here to check the reliability of the libelous statement about respondent. If he had made a good-faith check, I would agree that he should be pro *735 tected even if the statement were false, because the interest of public officials in their reputation must endure this degree of assault. But since he made no check, I agree with the Supreme Court of Louisiana that New York Times does not prohibit recovery.
I would affirm.