Deck 5: Libel: Proof of Fault

Question 1

In determining whether an individual is a limited purpose public figure for purposes of a libel action,a court will consider

A)whether the individual was involved in a controversy.
B)the nature of the controversy in which the individual was involved.
C)the role played by the individual in the controversy.
D)all of the above.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

All elected government employees are regarded as public officials.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Some courts have used three criteria suggested by the U.S.Supreme Court to decide whether a reporter or editor exhibited reckless disregard for the truth.Which of the following is not one of these three?

A)Was there time to check the story?
B)How reliable was the source of the story?
C)Was the story probable?
D)Was the story verified by two independent sources?

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Whether or not a reporter sought a comment from the subject of a libelous story will always be a critical factor in determining actual malice.

Question 5

Once a person is considered a public figure for purposes of a libel suit,he or she will always be regarded as a public figure in future libel cases,regardless of the subject matter of the subsequent libelous publication.

Question 6

Most judges tend to focus on one of the four elements of the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress when evaluating a defendant's actions.It is

A)whether the defendant's conduct was intentional or reckless.
B)whether the defendant's conduct was outrageous.
C)whether the defendant's conduct caused the emotional distress.
D)whether the plaintiff's emotional distress was severe.

Question 7

In libel law,a public controversy is defined as a controversy in which the resolution of the issues will affect a larger group of persons than those involved in the controversy.

Question 8

Bootstrapping in libel law occurs when

A)the press creates a controversy by reporting on an issue or event,and then pulls the plaintiff into the story.
B)two or more libel actions are filed at the same time against the same defendant.
C)the plaintiff pulls the reporters who prepared the story into court as well as the publication or broadcast outlet.
D)the plaintiff sues the on-line service provided as well as the individual who generated the web site.

Question 9

Generally speaking,it would be negligent for a reporter or editor to publish

A)an Associated Press story without checking it out completely.
B)allegations that are supported by several credible source,but strongly denied by the subject of the story.
C)a story based on allegations that are made by a source who has been found to be unreliable in the past.
D)all of the above.

Question 10

In the 1967 ruling in AP v.Walker,Curtis v.Butts,the Supreme Court laid down a test for

A)libel per se.
B)truth.
C)actual malice.
D)none of the above.

Question 11

The New York Times rule was generated by a lawsuit stemming from the Bush-era invasion of Iraq.

Question 12

A business regulated by the government is always regarded as a public figure.

Question 13

Which of the following was not a reason the Supreme Court used to justify its ruling against L.B.Sullivan in his libel suit against The New York Times?

A)Sullivan had not been identified in the advertisement.
B)The Times circulated only a few copies in Alabama.
C)Sullivan could not show any harm.
D)None of these reasons were used.

Question 14

Which of the following businesses would likely be regarded as a public figure in a libel suit?

A)A meat packing company that was fined for selling unsafe hamburger.
B)A department store that was sued for failing to promote qualified female employees.
C)An appliance store that attached parachutes to refrigerators,clothes dryers and dishwashers and dropped them from a plane into a public park to advertise its business.
D)All of them would be consider public figures.

Question 15

In which of the following situations would an individual most likely be deemed to be a public official in a libel suit?

A)A newspaper story that reports that a public school teacher said she was born in the United States on her job application,when she was really born in France.
B)A story that claims that a custodian at a state office building was accused of stealing cleaning supplies.
C)A story that alleges that a city councilwoman has taken money from a developer in exchange for her vote to approve a rezoning applications.
D)None of the above.

Question 16

A plaintiff must prove either knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth to show malice.

Question 17

A reporter who deliberately alters a direct quote from a news source may be guilty of actual malice if

A)the alteration results in a material change in the meaning of the statement.
B)the altered material turns out to be false.
C)the alteration puts the quoted individual in a bad light.
D)the alteration is the result of a failure to exercise reasonable care.

Question 18

An individual can be regarded as an all-purpose public figure if he or she is well known nationally,or well known exclusively in the geographic area (such a state or city)in which the libel was circulated.

Question 19

Individuals whose actions inadvertently or innocently push them into a public controversy are rarely regarded as public figures.

Question 20

Lower courts have consistently ruled that persons married to or closely associated with public persons are also public persons for the purposes of libel action.

Question 21

What are the criteria for a limited-purpose public figure?

Question 22

Distinguish between negligence and actual malice.