Re: Case Studies

Sheldon Halpern replied:
>
> Fair enough, as far as it goes but liability for the republication would
> still require some degree of fault (from negligence up to knowledge of
> falsity/reckless disregard), depending upon the public/private status of
> the individual plaintiff. In short, while the great changes in American
> defamation law over the past thirty years have not altered the proposition
> that one who republishes a libel is treated the same as the original
> publisher, the fault standards have attenuated the risk of republication.

I still remained unconvinced. How can one discuss whether something amounts to libel without talking about the alleged libel. If I teach a class and read a statement and ask wether the class thinks this amounts to libel I have a hard time believing that I am liable.

Should it matter whether I state the facts or write them on the board or hand them out in advance. Granted there are differences between libel and slander but should those difference be controlling in an academic setting. I would think one could escape liability in an academic setting by merely making clear that this material is be used for educational purposes and no one is claiming that the allegations are true.

  Don Berman --  

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