''Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts'', 388 U.S. 130 (1967), was a

landmark decision Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly u ...

of the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

establishing the standard of

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

protection against

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

claims brought by private individuals.

Background

The case involved a

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

lawsuit filed by the former

Georgia Bulldogs football The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Div ...

coach Wally Butts against ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

''. The lawsuit arose from an article in the magazine, which alleged that Butts and the

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

head coach

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

had conspired to fix games. The Butts suit was consolidated with another case, '' Associated Press v. Walker'', and both cases were decided in one opinion. In finding for Butts but against Walker, the Supreme Court gave some indications of when a "

public figure A public figure is a person who has achieved notoriety, prominence or fame within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own, In the context of defamation actions (libel and s ...

" could sue for libel.

Decision

In a plurality opinion, written by

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

John Marshall Harlan II, the Supreme Court held that news organizations were protected from liability when they print allegations about

public officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

. However, ''

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan ''New York Times Co. v. Sullivan'', 376 U.S. 254 (1964), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution's freedom of speech protections limit the ability of American public officials to sue for ...

'' (1964), the Supreme Court decided that news organizations are still liable to public figures if the information that they publish has been recklessly gathered or is deliberately false.https://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1966/1966_37 The Court ultimately ruled in favor of Butts, and ''The Saturday Evening Post'' was ordered to pay $3.06 million to Butts in damages, which was later reduced on appeal to $460,000. The settlement was seen as a contributing factor in the demise of ''The Saturday Evening Post'' and its parent corporation, the Curtis Publishing Company, two years later. Butts and Bryant had sued for $10 million each. Bryant settled for $300,000.

References

External links

* * 1967 in United States case law Alabama Crimson Tide football Georgia Bulldogs football The Saturday Evening Post United States defamation case law United States Free Speech Clause case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court {{SCOTUS-case-stub

Background

Decision

See also

References

External links