Confusion about names may show actual malice, state high court says

Article Abstract:

The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that a lower state court erred in granting summary judgment in a libel case involving a political candidate. The candidate sued a reporter after she confused him during a live broadcast with a cousin of his that had been arrested. The lower court had ruled that not enough evidence to prove actual malice had been presented to warrant a trial, but the state Supreme Court overturned the ruling, stating that, because the evidence was conflicting, the case should be tried by a jury.

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Doubting own source helps rebut claim of actual malice, court finds

Article Abstract:

The US Court of Appeals in Washington DC dismissed in Jan 1996 libel claims by former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane against Esquire magazine and freelance journalist Craig Unger. McFarlane, as a public figure, had to show actual malice, which he claimed was shown by the article's reliance on Ari Ben-Menashe, a source whose veracity the article also called into question by quoting others who call him a liar. The court said publishing grounds for doubting a source rebuts, not proves, malice.

United States, Media coverage, Bush, George H.W., McFarlane, Robert C.

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Omitting facts not malice unless intent was to deceive, court says

Article Abstract:

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled, in Dixon v Ogden Newspapers, that the omitting of facts to create a negative picture of two police officers did not prove malice on the part of the reporter. A lower court had allowed a jury to decide whether there was evidence of malice and the jury awarded damages for malice. The newspaper appealed and the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the award.

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