Sixty years ago, in New York Times Company v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court crafted powerful protection from spurious libel suits. The justices ruled unanimously that public officials could not succeed in libel claims unless they proved that a “statement was made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard of whether it was true or false.” They also held that officials could not, as a matter of constitutional law, bring libel suits based on criticism of government activities in general.
With the coming Trump administration apparently eager to crack down on unfavorable media coverage, there will probably be a lot of talk about the “Sullivan decision.” So, who was Sullivan?
Born in 1921, Lester Bruce Sullivan, or “L.B.,” was elected public safety commissioner of Montgomery, Ala., in 1959, putting him in charge of the police department. A civil rights fund-raising advertisement published in The Times on March 29, 1960, charged the Montgomery police with heavy-handed tactics in breaking up a demonstration by Black students. Though he was not named in the ad, Mr. Sullivan asserted he had been personally libeled by The Times and four Black ministers who were signed to the ad.
Alabama courts agreed and awarded Mr. Sullivan $500,000. His victory was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1964. Mr. Sullivan went on to become state prison commissioner before his death in 1977. The Museum at The Times preserves a 1961 photo of Mr. Sullivan by The Associated Press (shown above).
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