RE: Techie's List

["Lauren" <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu>]

Well I'm in California, so I guess my understanding of the law is a little
more close to my home.  Opinion, I think, is still defensible.  What if a
web site is setup in a state that recognizes truth as an absolute defense,
but a poster from one of the stricter jurisdications posted something
defamatory with improper motives, what law applies?  What if the owner of
the web site lived in a strict jurisdiction, the web site was in a lenient
jurisdiction, and the poster was anywhere?  Would it matter where the owner
or poster lived?  Does it matter where the web site is setup?

Lauren

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
Janice Gelb
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 9:10 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Techie's List

Tariel, Lauren R wrote:
> It isn't libel if it is true, also the list owner can disclaim any
responsibility for the opinion of others, unless the opinion seems false and
outrageous.  Or something like that.  There are man-hater web sites that get
sued for false statements, but it seems to me that the statements need to be
really, really bad before plaintiffs get a chance to make a case.  But the
truth is still an absolute defense for libel.  So I've heard, but I am not
attempting to give or imply legal advice here.
>  

I don't know about Ken's "Law of the Press" class at Kent State, but in the
similar course at the U of Florida even longer than 10 years ago, we were
taught that truth is *not* an absolute defense in every state. While it
might be at the federal level, costs would be involved with appealing.

I just went trawling through the net and found a few small snippets here and
there that seem to support this: that intention is in some states considered
along with truth.

For example, according to http://gammillaw.com/Intentional.shtml,
"Under Florida law, truth alone is not a sufficient defense to a defamatory
statement made with improper motives."

And according to
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=343&invol=250

"Since the Illinois Supreme Court construed this statute as a form of
criminal libel law, and truth of the utterance is not a defense to a charge
of criminal libel under Illinois law unless the publication is also made
"with good motives and for justifiable ends,"[...] "As to the defense of
truth, Illinois in common with many States requires a showing not only that
the utterance state the facts, but also that the publication be made "with
good motives and for justifiable ends.""

And it's not necessarily an umbrella defense in other countries. According
to http://medialibel.org/libel/other.html:

   "Although truth is a good defense, it is not always a
   complete defense. Legitimate public interest is a
   defense which applies solely to statements of fact.
   German courts look favorably on defense pleas where
   public interest issues are at stake."

-- Janice
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