Under the traditional rules of libel, injury is presumed from the fact of publication. However, the U. Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment 's protection of freedom of expression limits a State's ability to award damages in actions for libel. In New York Times Co. Sullivan , the Court held that proof of actual malice is required for an award of damages in an action for libel involving public officials or matters of public concern.
See New York Times Co. Sullivan , U. The Court reasoned that speech related to matters of public concern is at the heart of the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment, and outweighs the State's interest in compensating individuals for damage to their reputations. The essential elements of either kind typically include 1 a defamatory statement 2 that is "published" to a third party someone other than the plaintiff and the defendant. Defamation laws vary from state to state, but a "defamatory statement" is usually defined as one that an ordinary person would find damaging to their reputation and character.
Typically, a judge will determine if the statement is actually defamatory. Only if it is unclear whether the statement is defamatory—either because of the context in which it was made or because of multiple possible interpretations—will the jury be asked to make the assessment. Before the advent of modern media, there were only two kinds of communication: spoken and written. Slander pertained to spoken defamation and libel to written. Where defamatory statements published via radio, television or the internet fit into these categories is not a clear-cut matter.
Generally, it is up to the judge, and not the jury, in a defamation case to determine which category a certain statement fits into. There are two types of slander: slander and slander per se. In the first kind of slander, the plaintiff must prove the defendant made a defamatory statement to at least one other person i. Special damages are actual harm like loss of customers, being fired, or some other financial harm.
A slander per se claim does not require that the plaintiff prove special damages. This is because slander per se claims involve categories of defamatory statements that are presumed to be damaging to the plaintiff. While the categories may change a little from state to state, and evolve over the years, some of the most common slander per se categories are:.
If the defamatory statement falls into the category of libel, the plaintiff only needs to prove the essential elements, i. There are no additional requirements because the law presumes that once the publication of a defamatory statement has been made in written or other formats, the statement will remain in the public sphere for a long time and continue to do harm.
Once the plaintiff has successfully proved defamation, "general damages" are presumed. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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