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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is libel?
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a defamation by written words or by communication in some other tangible form
* punishment is more because it is more permanent and more people can see it |
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What is slander?
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defamation by spoken words or gestures
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What are the elements of a libel suit?
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1- defamation
2- identification 3- publication 4- falsity 5- injury 6 - fault |
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What is defamation?
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injury to repuation - lowers person's in the estimation of the communitiy or deterring 3rd persons from associating or doing business w/ that person.
How to know if it is defamatory: 1 - requires a judge to determine that the statement is capable of defamatory in meaning 2- jury decides whether a substantial and respectable segmentn of the public actually understood the statement as defaming |
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What is identification?
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requires proving that reasonable readers, listeners, or viewers would have understood that the statement was about the plaintiff.
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What is publication?
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when the statement has appeared in a newspaper or on a television broadcast. Ultimately, the statment just needs to be made to someone other than the person defamed.
The plaintiff must file a lawsuit w/in the time specified by the state. For the internet, it starts from the day of the initial publication |
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What is falsity?
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Must prove that statement is false
Means some defamed persons may not be able to recover damages, but making defendants prove truth means some truthful publications will be punished. |
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What is injury?
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injury to reputation, monetary loss, emotional suffering.
actual injuries include evidence of damage to reputation, humiliation, and mental anguish. INJURY NEED NOT BE GREAT, BUT MUST HAVE ONE. |
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What is fault?
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*most crucial*
refers to the state of mind of the person responsible for the allegedly defamatory statement: was the statement made intentionally, recklessly, or negligently? level of fault: depends on if the plaintiff is a public official or figure, or a private individual public- must prove statement was published w/ the knowledge it was false or w/ reckless disregard for whether it was false- "actual malice" |
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What is actual malice?
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when the defendent:
- knew facts would call story into question - refused to examine evidence that would prove or disprove a charge - relied on an inherently unbeleveable source - simply fabricated the story |
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The supreme court in the gertz decision identified 3 types of public figures - what are they?
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- involuntary
- general purpose - limited purpose |
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What is a general-purpose figure?
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They have persuasive power and influence as to be a public figure for all occasions- celebrities
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What is a limited purpose figure?
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largest category of public figures - consists of those who hold that status for the limited purpose of commenting on some particular topic or issue. These people have thrust themselves to the forefront of a controversy in order to affect its resolution.
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What are the defenses for media organizations in libel cases?
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- truth
- fair-report privilege - fair comment & criticism |
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What is truth?
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Proof that the gist of the charge is true.
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What is the fair-report privilege?
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a privilege that news reports have in which they are allowed to report on governmental proceedings
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What is the fair-comment and criticism?
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Protects from libel suits expressions of opinion about matters of legitimate public interest. Ony if the opinions are based on true facts
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What are retraction statutes?
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Limit damages or prevent libel suites in cases where a full, prompt, and prominent retratction has been published
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What are agricultural product-disparagement laws?
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"veggie libel laws" laws creating a right on the part of producers of agricultural products to sue when products are disparaged.
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what are the 4 kinds of invastion of privacy?
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- intruding a person's seclusion or solitude
- giving publicity to private facts - placing a person in a false light - appropriating a person's name or likeness for one's own benefit. |
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What is intrusion?
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a person intentionally intruding on the solitude or seclusion of another in a manner that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person
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What is publicly giving private facts?
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-publicity has been given to a private matter
- the matter publicized would be highly offensive to a reasonable person - there is no legitimate interest in the information |
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What is false-light invasion of privacy?
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protects a person's interest in being let alonse- suit requires that publicity place a person in a false lght and that it is highly offensive to a reasonable person
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What is appropriation?
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anyone who uses the name or likeness of another for his or her own use or benefit - most common is the use of a person's name/likeness for commercial purposes
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What is the Freedom of Information Act?
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opens to public inspection all records held by agencies of the federal executive branch. It exempts from disclosure:
- classified information - information related solely to internal personnel rules and practices - information exempted by other statutes - trade secrets and confidential commercial information - interagency and intra-agency memoranda that would reveal decision-making processes - information that would be clearly unwarranted invation of personal privacy - law enforcement investigatie files - information about financial institutions - geological and geophysical information |
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What are the 3 newsgathering issues?
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- access to nonjuicial proceedings and records
- access to judicial proceedings - confidentiality for sources and information |
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What are the 3 newsgathering issues?
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- access to nonjuicial proceedings and records
- access to judicial proceedings - confidentiality for sources and information |
