Actual malice

Actual malice

Actual malice in United States law is a condition required to establish libel against public officials or public figures and is defined as "knowledge that the information was false" or that it was published "with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not." Reckless disregard does not encompass mere neglect in following professional standards of fact checking. The publisher must entertain actual doubt as to the statement's truth. This is the definition in only the United States and came from the landmark 1964 lawsuit "New York Times Co. v. Sullivan", which ruled that public officials needed to prove actual malice in order to recover damages for libel.

This term was not newly invented for the "Sullivan" case, but was a term from existing libel law. In many jurisdictions proof of "actual malice" was required in order for punitive damages to be awarded, or for other increased penalties. Since proof of the writer's malicious intentions is hard to provide, proof that the writer knowingly published a falsehood was generally accepted as proof of malice, under the assumption that only a malicious person would knowingly publish a falsehood. In the "Sullivan" case the Supreme Court adopted this term and gave it constitutional significance, at the same time defining it in terms of the proof which had previously been usual. (See Lewis, Anthony (1991). "Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment")

Actual malice is different from common law malice which indicates spite or ill-will.

ee also

*"Westmoreland v. CBS"


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • actual malice — see malice Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • actual malice — Real as distinguished from legal or technical malice. 30 Am J Rev ed Interf § 45. Hatred, ill will, or hostility entertained by one person toward another. 34 Am J1st Mal §§ 2, 3. Although the cases are not entirely in accord, it would appear that …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • actual malice — See malice …   Black's law dictionary

  • actual malice — See malice …   Black's law dictionary

  • actual malice — noun In United States defamation law, the level of knowledge that must be demonstrated for a public figure to prevail as a plaintiff in a lawsuit for defamation; the defendant must have either known that information published about the plaintiff… …   Wiktionary

  • malice — mal·ice / ma ləs/ n 1 a: the intention or desire to cause harm (as death, bodily injury, or property damage) to another through an unlawful or wrongful act without justification or excuse b: wanton disregard for the rights of others or for the… …   Law dictionary

  • actual — ac·tu·al adj: existing in fact or reality compare constructive ac·tual·ly adv Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • malice in fact — Actual malice; a positive desire and intention to annoy or injure another person. Gamble v Keyes, 43 SD 245, 178 NW 870. In overcoming privilege, a motive which induces the defendant to defame the plaintiff. Hemmers v Nelson, 138 NY 517, 34 NE… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • malice — The intentional doing of a wrongful act without just cause or excuse, with an intent to inflict an injury or under circumstances that the law will imply an evil intent. A condition of mind which prompts a person to do a wrongful act willfully,… …   Black's law dictionary

  • malice — The intentional doing of a wrongful act without just cause or excuse, with an intent to inflict an injury or under circumstances that the law will imply an evil intent. A condition of mind which prompts a person to do a wrongful act willfully,… …   Black's law dictionary

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