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New York Times v. Sullivan
| New York Times v. Sullivan | |
| Court | Supreme Court of the United States |
|---|---|
| Citation | |
| Date decided | March 9, 1964 |
| Cited by | |
| Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. | |
Facts
In 1960, a civil rights organization took out a page of advertisement in the New York Times. The ad accuses the opponents of civil rights of a "wave of terror." Namely, the Montgomery Police Department in Alabama was accused of targeting MLK with intimidation such as "They have arrested him 7 times-for “speeding.” “loitering”.
The Alabama police countered that there were false and inaccurate statements in the advertisement because the Alabama police never pad-locked the Alabama State College dining hall to starve the students, never arrested MLK 7 times for speeding, and so on. Other claims were exaggerated. Therefore, the article defamed the Alabama police departments.
Sullivan, the Montgomery police commissioner, objected to the defamatory piece.Case Text Links
