by Donna Hicks

Created on: September 23, 2010

Defamation may be defined as “the making of false, derogatory statements in private or public about a person's business practices, character, financial status, morals or reputation,” according to the Business Dictionary. The People's Law Dictionary at law.com defines defamation as “the act of making untrue statements about another which damages his/her reputation. The definition of defamation also includes that printed defamation is libel, while oral defamation is slander.

History of Defamation Cases

The majority of people may think that defamation cases were first decided in New York Times Co v Sullivan, a famous 1964 libel case, of which a case summary of Sullivan is given by The Freedom Forum's Defamation and the First Amendment. But defamation cases have a very colorful history. German immigrant John Paul Zenger was defended by Alexander Hamilton when he was arrested and charged with “seditious libel,” in November 1734, after a series of statements in a New York newspaper Zenger published that were critical of the Royal Governor. After serving eight months in prison before trial, Zenger was found “not guilty,” by the jury who deliberated for only two hours. Archiving Early America explains that by Alexander Hamilton's successful defense of Zenger, the landmark case established the precedent that even a defamatory statement is not libelous if the statement can be proved, thereby affirming the freedom of the press.

Understanding Defamation through Recent Cases

In the Sullivan case, The Court held that public officials could win a libel suit only if they could prove actual malice. In Gertz v Welch, at issue was whether a private person had to demonstrate that a defamation defendant acted with actual malice or just fault to recover damages. In a magazine published by Robert Welch INC., statements were made relative to a murder case, in which a magazine article, published in Welch’s “American Opinion” alleged that attorney Gerz had assisted with framing a police officer for the murder. The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court was that plaintiffs could not win on a defamation claim when the defamation was a matter of opinion and not stated as facts. According to a West Encyclopedia of American Law explanation of defamation at Free Dictionary, plaintiffs who are private citizens are afforded a lesser degree of constitutional protection in defamation claims. Indeed, it does appear that fully understanding defamation laws can, at best, be deemed difficult, if not frustrating. Perhaps as more cases end up in the courts, the definition of defamation will continue to be clarified.

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