New
York Times v. Sullivan 1964 (9-0)
Background:
An ad was
placed in the NY Times to raise money for Civil Rights leaders
Sullivan
demanded a retraction
Argued
the ad defamed him as City Commissioner for the city of Montgomery
Sued for libel
There were
some inaccuracies but were minor
For
example, ad stated King arrested seven times when in fact it was four
Times
refused to comply with the retraction
Sullivan
sued- asked for $500,000 in damages
Trial was
a sham- Times lost
Now, libel
would be used as a political weapon to intimidate the press
South was
trying to choke off a process that was educating the country about the harsh
realities of racism in the South.
Strategy
of intimidation spread throughout the South, by the time the case reached the
Supreme Court, the South had brought forth nearly $300,000,000 in libel suits.
What
would happen if the strategy worked?
Would it
have made a difference in the progress of the Civil Rights Movement?
-Think of
King’s tactics (Discuss)
The
landmark case: New York Times v. Sullivan 1964
Established
the “actual
malice” standard
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