Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
- Decided
- June 25, 1974
- Docket
- 72-617
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 4,525 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- recognizing that in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U. S. 254 (1964), we "extended a measure of strategic protection to defamatory falsehood" of public officials — Dickerson v. United States (2000)
- holding that states may impose punitive damages for defamation where the plaintiff proves knowing falsity or reckless disregard for the truth — Ginger Rogers v. Alberto Grimaldi, Mgm/ua Entertainment Co., and Pea Produzioni Europee Associate, S.R.L. (1989)
- holding that application of the malice standard to public figure plaintiffs is predicated on the recognition that error is "inevitable in free debate" — Procter & Gamble Co. v. Amway Corp. (2001)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Mr. Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court.
This Court has struggled for nearly a decade to define the proper accommodation between the law of defamation and the freedoms of speech and press protected by the First Amendment. With this decision we return to that effort. We granted certiorari to reconsider the extent of a publisher’s constitutional privilege against liability for defamation of a private citizen. 410 U. S. 925 (1973).
I
Cite this
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974)Read the full opinion
Reading the library on this site uses your account’s daily calls, the same as the connector and the API. The Free plan needs no card. Calls a day on each plan.