…Since launching his 1st Republican presidential campaign in 2015, #Trump has often attacked & even sued #media outlets whose coverage he dislikes, & has repeatedly criticized US #defamation laws.
A federal judge in 2023 threw out Trump's $475M defamation lawsuit against CNN, in which Trump claimed the network's description of his election #fraud as the "#BigLie" associated him w/ #Hitler. Trump's lawyers…invited the judge to reconsider the #legal standard set in #NYTvSullivan.
#SteveWynn's petition for appeal, which was made public by the court on Feb 4, asks #SCOTUS to assess "whether this court should overturn Sullivan’s actual-malice standard," as well as a related prior court decision.
At least 4 justices must vote to grant review for the court to hear an appeal. No date has been set for the justices to review or vote on whether to take up Wynn's case.
#SCOTUS in #NYTvSullivan & subsequent decisions set a standard that in order to win a #libel suit, a public figure must demonstrate the offending statement was made w/ "actual malice," meaning w/ knowledge it was false or with reckless disregard as to whether it was false.
That standard has since been adopted in a number of state laws across the country, including in Nevada.
#SteveWynn, the fmr CEO of Wynn Resorts & fmr finance chair of the #RNC, is appealing a decision by Nevada's top court to dismiss his #defamation suit against the #AssociatedPress & one of its #journalists. The court found Wynn failed to show a disputed 2018 news report containing allegations of #SexualAssault had been published w/ "actual malice."
The court established a stringent limit on #defamation claims by public figures more than 60 years ago in its New York Times v. Sullivan decision involving the U.S. Constitution's #FirstAmendment protections for freedom of speech & the press.
#law #journalism #FreePress #NYTvSullivan #FourteenthAmendment #Trump #TrumpCoup #authoritarianism #tyranny
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/106761/new-york-times-co-v-sullivan/
Casino mogul #SteveWynn [& #Trump ally] has asked #SCOTUS to hear an appeal that, if granted, could give the justices a chance to revisit libel #protections for #journalists enshrined in a landmark 1964 ruling that has been questioned by 2 conservative justices [one guess] & Trump.
#law #FirstAmendment #FreePress #NYTvSullivan
https://www.reuters.com/legal/casino-mogul-wynn-asks-us-supreme-court-revisit-times-v-sullivan-defamation-rule-2025-02-07/
Former US Acting Solicitor General* #NealKatyal hosts #AriMelber in premiere episode of his summer #Substack series #Courtside, where Katyal will discuss #SCOTUS decisions.
1st: 1964’s #NYTvSullivan, which set boundaries for #1A freedom of the press.
While Melber’s a lawyer, Katyal plans to get non-lawyers’ reactions for the rest of his series.
[*May 2010 to June 2011]
@jackiegardina Florida's public officials want to be treated as almighty saints again, unaccountable & forever above the law & justice.
