On TV.com: Latest DEXTER Renewed My Faith
BNET Business Network:
BNET
TechRepublic
ZDNet
TalkBack 2 of 6:
Next »
« Previous
You misunderstand the definition of libel ...
The court based their decision on "no assertion of fact" not on "damage to plaintiff". Libel is when you make a statement purporting to be fact that you know to be untrue, with malice and intent to deceive. But stating an opinion on anything is the core right of free speech in the 1st Amendment.

If I say "John Baggypants embezzled $20 million from the Dogwasher Company last year", that is an assertion of fact and I could be held liable if the statement is untrue, I had reason to believe it was untrue, and I said it with malice or intent to deceive. To the extent that JB was damaged by my statement I could be sued to "make him whole".

If I say "I believe that John Baggypants is a crook and he's running the Dogwasher Company into the red", that is an opinion, and it's protected by the 1st Amendment as long as it's not obscene or an incitement to riot or other criminal act. It doesn't matter whether it was done with malice or caused damages, because "the people" are assumed to be smart enough to understand the difference between an opinion and a fact.

Usual disclaimer: IANAL, and this comes from 10 years ago as I was on staff of the student newspaper. I'm sure that a real pro like a staffer at ZDNet could go into a lot more of the details.
Posted by: terry flores   Posted on: 02/07/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
Reply to Story Reply to Message

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

Well, as long as no financial or personal harm can come from  Boot_Agnostic | 02/07/08
You misunderstand the definition of libel ...  terry flores | 02/07/08
decade-old controversy?  mighetto | 02/07/08
FRANK...  nomoremicrosoft | 02/07/08
If Hillary gets elected, will the same rules apply?  lalogos | 02/08/08
What are you talking about???  Cayble | 02/08/08

What do you think?

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

advertisement
advertisement

SmartPlanet

Click Here