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 slander) as well as
invasion of privacy, a public figure cannot succeed in a lawsuit on incorrect harmful statements in the
United States unless there is proof that the writer or publisher acted with
actual malice
Actual malice in United States law is a legal requirement imposed upon public officials or public figures when they file suit for libel (defamatory printed communications). Compared to other individuals who are less well known to the general pu ...
by knowing the falsity or by reckless disregard for the truth. The legal
burden of proof in defamation actions is thus higher in the case of a public figure than in the case of an ordinary person.
Libel laws vary considerably on this matter from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Even within a cultural grouping, the libel laws of the UK are quite different from those in the US, for example.
United States
The controlling
precedent in the
United States was set in 1964 by the
United States Supreme Court in ''
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 ...
'', which is considered a key decision in supporting the
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 reco ...
and
freedom of the press.
A fairly high threshold of public activity is necessary to elevate people to a public figure status. Typically, they must either be:
* a public figure, a public official or any other person pervasively involved in public affairs, or
* a limited purpose public figure, those who have "thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies in order to influence the resolution of the issues involved." A "particularized determination" is required to decide whether a person is a limited purpose public figure, which can be variously interpreted:
[Aaron Larson]
Defamation, Libel and Slander Law
Expertlaw.com, August 2003
Discussion of a person on the Internet may at times rise to the level that it causes the subject of discussion to be treated as an involuntary public figure.
Corporations are not automatically treated as public figures, and defamation claims made by corporations are evaluated under the same standard as those made by individuals.
See also
* ''
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.'' (1974)
* ''
Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts
''Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts'', 388 U.S. 130 (1967), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court establishing the standard of First Amendment protection against defamation claims brought by private individuals.
Background
The case involve ...
'' (1967)
* ''
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
''Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell'', 485 U.S. 46 (1988), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court ruling that the First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit public figures from recovering damages for the tort of intentional infli ...
'' (1988)
Further reading
* Adams, Kate M.
(Re)defining Public Officials and Public Figures: A Washington State Primer"
Archive ''
Seattle University Law Review
The ''Seattle University Law Review'' is the flagship law review journal of the Seattle University School of Law. The journal publishes quarterly and it is currently in its 45th volume. It was originally established as the ''University of Puget S ...
''.
Seattle University School of Law. Vol 23:1155-2000. p. 1155-1187.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Public Figure
American legal terminology
Public sphere