Libel over there -- and over here

Los Angeles Times
April 9, 2009

https://www.legal-project.org/263/libel-over-there-and-over-here

Excerpt:

 Before the American Revolution, a plaintiff could successfully sue a writer for libel even when the offensive statement was demonstrably true. Then, starting with the famous Zenger case in 1735 and culminating with the New York Times vs. Sullivanruling by the Supreme Court in 1964, American law cemented our tradition of open expression of ideas. In order to win a libel case in this country, a public figure must show not only that the critical statement is false but that the writer knew it to be false or wrote it with a reckless disregard for the truth.

That "actual malice" standard is a cornerstone of our 1st Amendment free-speech and free-press rights. But libel law has developed along a different path in England, where writers must prove that statements alleged to be libelous are true. That plaintiff-friendly approach has made London into a kind of libel headquarters for thin-skinned public figures who take umbrage at books they don't like.

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