Mr. Patterson was one of four Alabama public officials who sued the New York Times in 1960 for libel over an advertisement that was highly critical of police and state authorities’ handling of civil rights demonstrations. An Alabama jury awarded Mr. Patterson $1 million. But in a unanimous 1964 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the verdicts in what is considered a landmark in press freedom. Public figures, the court said, had to prove “actual malice,” meaning “that the statement was made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard of whether it was true or false.”

Source: Washington Post June 05, 2021 21:45 UTC