{"ID":51121,"name":"Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/1973\/72-617","view_count":0,"docket_number":"72-617","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"Gertz","second_party":"Robert Welch Inc.","timeline":[{"event":"Argued","dates":[122104800],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/31551"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[141368400],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/31552"}],"lower_court":{"ID":12,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/12"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EGertz was an attorney hired by a family to sue a police officer who had killed the family\u0027s son. In a magazine called American Opinion, the John Birch Society accused Gertz of being a \u0022Leninist\u0022 and a \u0022Communist-fronter\u0022 because he chose to represent clients who were suing a law enforcement officer. Gertz won a jury verdict and an award of $50,000 but lost his libel suit because the trial judge found that the magazine had not violated the actual malice test for libel which the Supreme Court had established in \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times v. Sullivan\u003C\/em\u003E (1964). The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the trial judge\u0027s ruling.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EDoes the First Amendment allow a newspaper or broadcaster to assert defamatory falsehoods about an individual who is neither a public official nor a public figure?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Court reversed the lower court decision, holding that Gertz\u0027s rights had been violated and ordering a new trial. Justice Powell argued that the application of the New York Times v. Sullivan standard in this case was inappropriate because Gertz was neither a public official nor a public figure. In the context of the opinion, Powell advanced many lines of reasoning to establish that ordinary citizens should be allowed more protection from libelous statements than individuals in the public eye. First, the recklessness standard applies only to defamation of public figures or public officials. Second, even for private individuals, states may not impose strict liability on news media. And third, any standard of fault less then recklessness limits private persons to actual injury.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Harry A. Blackmun write a concurring opinion signing on to the reasoning and outcome of the majority. Justices William J. Brennan, Jr. and William O. Douglas dissenting, arguing that the failure to apply the New York Times v. 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