Prior to 1964, it was widely assumed that state tort
law was completely outside of First Amendment
protection. With respect to defamation law in
particular, the old rule appeared to be that the
Constitution extends no protection to false
statements.
All this changed with the landmark case of New York
Times v Sullivan, a case whose importance it would be
hard to overestimate. Had the case been decided
against the Times, it almost certainly would have
produced a more timid press and led to decisions to
restrict the circulation of previously national
magazines and newspapers to states unlikely to spawn
financially-threatening defamation suits. In New York
Times v Sullivan a unanimous Supreme Court overturns
an Alabama jury award of $500,000 entered against the
Times for publication of a political advertisement
that allegedly defamed Montgomery County Commissioner
L. B. Sullivan. At least with respect to criticism of
the official conduct of public officials it is
necessary, the Court said, for a defamation plaintiff
to establish that a false statement has been published
with either knowledge of its falsity, or with reckless
disregard as to its truth or falsity. This is the
so-called "actual malice" standard.
