Word: lando
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Herbert vs. Lando (1979). A libel plaintiff obliged to prove actual malice because he is a public figure has the right to inquire into a reporter's state of mind. Lando's CBS lawyers had argued that such questions could chill the free exchange of ideas in the newsroom...
...against automatically throwing out libel cases brought by clear-cut public figures. The defendant's state of mind-the key element in actual malice-"does not readily lend itself to summary disposition," wrote Chief Justice Warren Burger. Just two months ago, the high court ruled in Herbert vs. Lando that libel plaintiffs can probe a reporter's state of mind. This may raise questions of fact that only a jury, not a judge, can decide...
...journalist has ever gone to court before to complain about these questions. In fact, press lawyers point out that a journalist can often help his case by testifying that even if he got his facts wrong, he did not realize it at the time. Many press lawyers even see Lando's loss as a blessing in disguise. If the court had barred state-of-mind questions, it might have abolished the actual malice standard and substituted one that made it easier for plaintiffs to prevail...
None of the Justices heeded Lando's argument that allowing questions about a reporter's thoughts would have a "chilling effect" on editorial decision making: White contended that only lies would be "chilled." Though they dissented, both Justice William Brennan and Justice Thurgood Marshall said they did not understand how a journalist could be prevented from thinking. Their concern was that journalists would be reluctant to discuss stories openly and frankly among themselves in the newsroom. Brennan would allow questions about these conversations only if the plaintiff could first show that he had been harmed by a false...
...majority opinion, Justice White did warn judges to be careful that the discovery process is not used for harassment or delay, in press cases or any others. Indeed, it may be that lengthy pretrial discovery, as Lando endured, is a much greater threat to freedom of the press than questioning a reporter's state of mind. Said Columbia Law School Professor Benno Schmidt: "Knowing that someone could tie you up for days in pretrial discovery at huge expense might be enough reason not to publish a story...