Re: Libel & the 1st Amendment

["Mark M." <markm@voicenet.com>]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

On Thu, 30 Jan 1997, Jim Choate wrote:

> > * Many 1st Amendment experts don't believe in the legal concept of libel.
> > It is, they say, a rich man's game
>
> Exactly, instead of equal protection under the law we have a specieocracy.

Anyone can afford a contingency-free attorney as long as the plaintiff has a
good chance of being awarded damages.  This has the benefit that the legal
system doesn't get overcrowded with frivolous cases.

> > -- if I'm libeled by the NYT, I'm
> > probably not going t be able to sue them, but Donald Trump can. Moreover,
> > if I don't have the resources to sue but the statement is libelous, it
> > creates a *presumption* in the minds of the readers that the article is
> > certainly true. (If it were not, I would have sued, right?)
>
> Another good example of why our system is broke.

If the legal concept of libel is abandoned, this presumption will largely
disappear.  People will have to rely on the credibility of the source, instead
of whether or not the victim of libel has sued.



Mark
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.3
Charset: noconv

iQEVAwUBMvJkASzIPc7jvyFpAQESzAf+Km41fJ4vhavBizPODBuzM8OpolOHFUIy
N45inFeUGtsaPH5BBz0T4blAlfgKoYU7N72E/nxbLx+QHZ42oQxcsvtoxiS/zjW8
ilygkVyVxsokueexwLo1QbBn87XIYHbyJBX2Tom31I5iw67caMAfKibnQoVEb1/r
8wlLe00CVB/rkob3QMO1VpT+FLl68+qjo+xfvCNe/GyyvJe0soppnh+croNSWA7R
uksNa18XENdntBmy5UDqyCrTfLI40rZkd4wYoTkOy7K2eq1cz2uSO9J2BJOpHnh6
zh4JtXI5UVYOvj3BMbYe0v7Cs/V+1e/eLtqyMNvFGNM2jdl2f39G6w==
=lYDr
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----