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American Aristocracy

American Aristocracy. “Some of their fellow-citizens acquired a power over the rest which might truly have been called aristocratic, if it had been capable of invariable transmission from father to son.” — Alexis de Toqueville (1840, 4). z INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES

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American Aristocracy

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  1. American Aristocracy • “Some of their fellow-citizens acquired a power over the rest which might truly have been called aristocratic, if it had been capable of invariable transmission from father to son.” —Alexis de Toqueville (1840, 4) z INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  2. PUBLIC OFFICIALS Jan Brewer Governor of Arizona Jeff Sessions U.S. Senator Hilary Clinton U.S. Secretary of State George Bush, Sr. 41st President

  3. Public Officials • Gained interest because their occupation affects the public at the national, state, and/or local level • Recognized for knowledge, leadership skills, and charisma z INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  4. PUBLIC FIGURES Ellen Pompeo T.V. Actress Kobe Bryant Professional Basketball Player Beyonce Knowles Singer Brad Pitt Actor

  5. Public Figures • Gained interest because their occupation interests the public • “The glamorous impersonates the ordinary.” — Laura Mulvey (1975, 205) z INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  6. What is Defamation? • False & derogatory statements that injure reputation • Slander & libel • Tortus = twisted z INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  7. The Twists • The First Amendment vs. English common law • Private Individuals v. Public Figures/Officials z INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  8. English Common Law Tradition • 1275 statute outlawing slander between King & people • Penance vs. temporal grievance • Court of Star Chamber & birth of libel law • Importance of reputation in English society — INTRO. zHISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  9. Defamation in the United States • “Congress shall make no law. . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” • The Sedition Act of 1798 • Common law remained intact — INTRO. z HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  10. Officials Become Public • Prior to 1896—no press space in White House • Appearance of mass-circulation press • Theodore Roosevelt holds press conferences • After Watergate—shift in public interest — INTRO. z HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  11. Pres. Kennedy as a Public Official • The masquerade of Camelot in the 1960’s • Post-Watergate—reality of Kennedy’s private life — INTRO. z HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  12. Emergence of Public Figures • The Hollywood Studio Machine • The growth of tabloids — INTRO. z HISTORY — CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  13. New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) • The facts of the case • Common law v.s. the First Amendment • Public officials & actual malice • A new American standard — INTRO. —HISTORY z CASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  14. Time, Inc. v. Hill (1967) • Facts of the case • Not a libel suit • A matter of public interest • Hill as a public figure — INTRO. — HISTORY zCASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  15. Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967) • Facts of the case • Butts as a public figure • Application of actual malice standard — INTRO. — HISTORY zCASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  16. Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974) • Facts of the case • Gertz as a private citizen • Actual malice standard inapplicable • Treatment decided by the states — INTRO. — HISTORY zCASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  17. Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps (1987) • Facts of the case • Common law and the burden of proof • The most constitutionally protected entity • Private citizens bear the burden — INTRO. — HISTORY zCASES — ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  18. American Defamation Law & the Federal System • Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. (1990) — a framework • Burnett v. National Enquirer (1981) — kinds of malice • The categories of public officials and public figures • Differences in degree of fault — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES zISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  19. The Internet • Internet intermediaries • Communications Decency Act (1996) • Widespread anonymity; 55% of bloggers use pseudonyms. • An advanced version of a classical forum — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES z ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  20. Remedies & Damages • Monetary awards • Declaratory relief • Self-Help • Right-of-Response statutes • Injunctive relief • Retraction — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES z ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  21. Five Key Issues • First Amendment vs. common law • Public vs. private citizens • Differences between states • Defamation and the internet • Insufficiency of remedies — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES z ISSUES — SOLUTIONS

  22. Proposed Solution to Issue One:The First Amendment vs. Common Law • Support New York Times interpretation of First Amendment & common law • No actual malice requirement in declaratory relief claims — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES —ISSUES zSOLUTIONS

  23. Proposed Solution to Issue Two:Public vs. Private Distinction • Categories needed • Recommend the courts redefine the major categories based on today’s social constructs — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES —ISSUES zSOLUTIONS

  24. Thoughts on Issue Three:Differences Between States • Importance of enabling each state to craft its own defamation law • The national framework holds the law in place — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES —ISSUES zSOLUTIONS

  25. Proposed Solution to Issue Four:Defamation & the Internet • Support Solove’s proposal for exhausting informal mechanisms when the defendant is not a repeat offender or part of a broadcast or print-media publication — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES —ISSUES zSOLUTIONS

  26. Proposed Solutions to Issue Five:Insufficiency of Remedies • Support a loser-pay-all system • Believe declaratory relief issued in the same publication the defamatory statement was released as the most sufficient remedy — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES —ISSUES zSOLUTIONS

  27. Final Thoughts • The twist in defamation law cannot be fully straightened because of its very nature, but perhaps, it can be slightly untwisted with new revision of the old law. — INTRO. — HISTORY — CASES —ISSUES zSOLUTIONS

  28. Major Sources • Collins, Matthew. 2005. The Law of Defamation and the Internet. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, INC. • Curtis Publishing Company v Butts, 388 US 130 (1967) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgibin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=388&invol=13> (accessed 20 September 2009). • Gertz v. Robert Welch, INC., 418 US 323 (1974) < http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi- bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=418&invol=323> (accessed 19 September 2009). • Kupferman, Theodore R. ed. 1990. Defamation: Libel and Slander: Readings from Communication and the Law, I. Westport, Connecticut: Meckler Corporation. • Milo, Dario. 2008. Defamation and Freedom of Speech. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press. • Mulvey, Laura. 1975. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” In The Routledge Critical and Cultural Theory Reader. 2008. Eds. Neil Badmington and Julia Thomas. New York, N.Y.: Routledge. 202-212. • New York Times Company v. Sullivan, 376 US 254 (1964) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=376&invol=254> (accessed 20 September 2009). • Philadelphia Newspapers, INC v. Hepps, 475 US 767 (1987) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case =/us/475/767.html> (accessed 19 September 2009).

  29. Major Sources • Schwartz, Victor E., Kathryn Kelly, and David F. Partlett. 2005. Prosser, Wade, and Schwartz’s Torts: Eleventh Edition. New York, N.Y.: Foundation Press. • Siegel, Paul. 2008. Communication Law in America: Second Edition. New York, N.Y.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC. • Smolla, Rodney A. 1986. Suing the Press. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, INC. • Solove, Daniel J. 2007. The Future of Reputation. New Haven, C.T.: Yale University Press. • Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 U.S. 374 (1967) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgibin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=385&invol=374> (accessed 19 September 2009). • Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1840. “Equality of Condition.” In Classic Readings in American Politics: 3rd Edition. 1999. Eds. Pietro S. Nivola and David H. Rosenbloom. New York, N.Y.: Worth Publishers INC. 3-8.

  30. Base Image Sources • http://www.webring.com/hub?ring=americaskennedys • http://images.chron.com/blogs/fanblogastros/archives/american-flag.jpg • http://www.rogersrants.com/uploads/RonaldReagan.jpg • http://s3.images.com/huge.1.8461.JPG • http://www.historyplace.com/kennedy/jfkpix/63/porchthp.jpg • http://www.elvispresleymuseum.com/images/page_3_68_ep_leather_with_audience.jpg • http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/specials/oscars07/show/beauty/beyonce_knowles.jpg • http://filmonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/brad_pitt.jpg • http://www.venuereservations.co.uk/userfiles/venues/places/12/main/main.jpg • http://www.nndb.com/people/362/000022296/george-bush-sr.jpg • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Jeff_Sessions_official_portrait.jpg • http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kobe_bryant_main.jpg • http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/database/ellenpompeo/ellenpompeo300.jpg • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Governor_Jan_Brewer.jpg • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_crop.jpg • http://www.corbisimages.com/images/HU058230.jpg?size=67&uid=9EA7A5EA-298E-44F3-B3BB-320BEA9D61D0 • http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5ir3oXdw4zg/SYRtHpTll7I/AAAAAAAACww/uGhW_DZmJxA/s400/20081117075104.jpg • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/JFK_and_Marilyn_Monroe_1962.jpg • http://www.rotoinfo.com/admin/images/adrian-peterson2(1).jpg • http://www.javno.com/slike/slike_3/r1/g2008/m10/y183731481725298.jpg • http://www.australia.to/images/stories/6News/US%20Supreme%20Court.jpg • http://lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/usa_blank.jpg • http://www.thehawkgroup.com/images/computer.jpg • http://www.freefoto.com/images/04/34/04_34_12---Computer-Keyboard_web.jpg • http://lh3.ggpht.com/_BtX3mbqRLh8/SDMVJuv1vMI/AAAAAAAABro/iC6sUdwTmtQ/DSC03004.JPG • http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/misc/notebook.jpg • http://www.rogerwendell.com/images/solutions/solutions.jpg • http://lehrman.isi.org/media/images/cache/Alexis_de_Tocqueville.jpg/638px-Alexis_de_Tocqueville.jpg • http://www.hunton.com/files/tbl_s33PracticeGroups%5CImage5695%5C823%5Cdefamation.jpg • http://www.canadianlawsite.ca/images/slander.jpg • http://blog.communiquepr.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/newspaper.jpg • http://heavenawaits.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/hourglass.jpg

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