Reforming the Tort of Defamation: An Accommodation of the Competing Interests within the Current Constitutional Framework

Authors

Paul A. LeBel, William and Mary Law SchoolFollow

Abstract

I. The Constitutional Framework: An Updated Primer on New York Times v. Sullivan and Its Progeny ... A. The Sullivan Rules ... B. The Gertz Rules ... C. The Miscellaneous Procedural Rules

II. Two Substantive Reform Proposals ... A. An Immunity for Speech about Government ... B. An Expansion of the Emotional Harm Component of the Defamation Claim

III. Two Remedial Reform Proposals ... A. A Series of Options That Can Be Exercised to Reduce Exposure to Monetary Damages ... B. A Restriction on the Availability of Punitive Damages

IV. Conclusion

Recommended Citation

Paul A. LeBel, Reforming the Tort of Defamation: An Accommodation of the Competing Interests within the Current Constitutional Framework, 66 Neb. L. Rev. (1987)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol66/iss2/3