Torts Keyed to Epstein
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
Facts
The Respondent was one of three elected Commissioners of Montgomery, Alabama. His duties included supervision of the police department. The Respondent brought suit against the Petitioner, alleging that he was libeled by statements made in a full-page advertisement carried by the Petitioner. The advertisement included allegations that armed police in Montgomery surrounded the State Capitol when students gathered there to protest and that Dr. Martin Luther King has repeatedly been harassed by police in the south. The Plaintiff was not mentioned by name, but claimed that the statements attributed misconduct to him as supervisor of the Montgomery Police Department. A jury at Circuit Court awarded respondent damages of $500,000 and the Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed.
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