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Quotation from New York Times Co. v. Sullivan by Supreme Court of the United States
“The constitutional guarantees require, we think, a federal rule that prohibits a public official from recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with 'actual malice'—that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, Opinion of the Court (Brennan, J.), Part II (U.S. Reports text (Legal Information Institute))
The Court announces the actual malice standard.
Citation: "The constitutional guarantees require, we think, a federal rule that prohibits a public official from recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with 'actual malice'—that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not." — Supreme Court of the United States, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, Opinion of the Court (Brennan, J.), Part II (U.S. Reports text (Legal Information Institute)). (id new-york-times-v-sullivan-q4)
Portrait: US Supreme Court Justice William Brennan - 1972 official portrait, Robert S. Oakes, Public domain.
