Civil Procedure Keyed to Subrin
Calder v. Jones
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Petitioners South is a reporter, and Petitioner Calder is president and an editor, of Petitioner National Enquirer. South wrote an article that accused Respondent of a drinking problem that was so severe that it affected her acting career. Calder reviewed the article and edited it to its final form for publication. Respondent brought a suit for libel, and South and Calder challenged California’s personal jurisdiction since neither had any physical contacts with California, particularly as it pertained to this article. South did rely on sources from California, and Respondent’s life and career were centered in California. The district court cited Petitioner’s rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as trumpeting Due Process Clause concerns. The appellate court reversed because First Amendment arguments are irrelevant to jurisdictional analysis.
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