COMM 403 Libel Exam multiple choice

Why can’t the speech of a senator speaking on the floor of the Senate while the Senate is in session be the basis of a successful libel suit?

It receives an absolute privilege from libel suits, Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution protects such speech, The framers valued robust debate in Congress.

Which of the following is privileged, that is, it cannot be the basis of a successful libel suit?

Testimony by a person on the witness stand during a trial, The opening and closing statements of attorneys in a trial, The reading, in open court, of the jury’s verdict.

Which of the following is privileged, that is, it cannot be the basis of a successful libel suit?

 citizen speaking for or against proposed legislation at a bill hearing, A citizen speaking about any issue during the public comment section of a city council meeting, A county executive recommending policy to the county commissioners during the monthly meeting of the county commissioners.

If a communication receives a qualified privilege from libel suits, there is also always an underlying communication on which it is based that receives an absolute privilege.

True

What is reckless disregard for the truth?

 

Publishing something with a high degree of awareness that it is probably false, Publishing something with serious doubts as to whether or not it is true., One of the forms of actual malice.

If a person has been arrested for committing murder, but has not yet been on trial, what should she be called in a newspaper story?

The person who was arrested in connection with the murder

Is it libel to publish a statement saying the founder of the Proud boys is a misogynistic antisemite?

No. Falsity is one of the elements of libel. If someone has repeatedly espoused misogynistic and antisemitic views in public forums, it is not libelous to call them a misogynist and antisemite.

Can one criminally libel a person who is dead?

Yes, in those few state that still have criminal libel statues

Defenses against libel actions, in addition to qualified privilege and the opinion defenses include

consent and right of reply

According to the U.S. Supreme Court, changing the words in a quotation

is OK so long as the author retains the gist of what the speaker was saying

The libel alleged in New York Times v. Sullivan came in

an advertisement

A court trial is one government proceeding excluded from the application of qualified privilege

False

 A person who was considered a public figure in connection with a public controversy remains a public figure with regard to stories published or broadcast about that controversy in the future, despite the passage of time.

True

Which is an example of venue shopping?

Choosing to bring a libel suit in a state where the statute of limitations has not yet expired

Why argue in the alternative?

If the court does not agree with an attorney that one side wins or loses on a prong of a rule, it may agree with the attorney on later prongs.

Which is the black letter law?

Milkovich

Which are courts more likely to apply when a libel defendant claims the communication was opinion?

Ollman

Which justice wrote the opinion from which we get the Ollman test?

None of the above

Who is Stormy Daniels?

A porn star, A woman who claims to have had an affair with Donald Trump before he was president, A woman who claims she was threatened to keep quiet about an affair with Donald Trump, A woman whose defamation suit based on the former president’s tweets was dismissed and who was ordered to pay Donald Trump’s legal fees.

Which justice has suggested he is open to reconsidering the actual malice standard in New York Times v. Sullivan?

Clarence Thomas

Which of the following likely would be deemed a limited-purpose public figure?

None of the above

How many elements of libel are there?

Five

What is a tort?

A private wrong

Why did an Ottertail County, Minnesota coroner only have to show negligence when she sued for libel?

The story that contained the defamatory comments about her was not about her work for Ottertail County

Why did Sullivan sue the New York Times

He claimed his reputation was injured by untrue allegations contained in the newspaper