ABSTRACT
Times v Sullivan sets a striking principle: without (nearly unobtainable) proof of ‘actual malice’, public officials can’t win defamation suits. If public persons’ reputations conflict with free discourse, the latter wins. Sullivan is iconic. But it’s increasingly beleaguered, said to immunize lies that tear our polity apart. These fears are well-founded. The Sullivan Regime is broken. But understanding why starts not, as critics suggest, from new technology or constitutional doctrine. It starts from the tort of defamation …
Rauch, Daniel, Defamation as Democracy Tort (April 19, 2023), University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Forthcoming.
Leave a Reply